


Allegro

by timecap_cell



Category: Original Work
Genre: Band Fic, Bullying, Coming Out, Dolls, Drinking, Family Issues, M/M, Macro/Micro, Masturbation, Oral Sex, Questioning, Rape/Non-con Elements, Self-Esteem Issues, accidental abuse, retail is hell
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:28:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 113,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24278878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/timecap_cell/pseuds/timecap_cell
Summary: He was a big guy with big dreams who wanted to make it big. But he was going nowhere fast, until he got a little help from something very, very small.
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Male Character, Original Male Character/Original Male Character
Comments: 9
Kudos: 37





	1. Chapter 1

"Happy New Year."

And then his camera clicked, capturing the perfectly still face. It was a near perfect shot, as far as Clef was concerned. Gustav's face was tilted just right, making it look like he was smiling for once, and the huge display that lit up to declare the new year in Himbeergeist every year blazed bright on the TV in the background. He would only have to edit a little bit for lighting and to give the photo the high-contrast look that he liked before posting it on the forums.

"You know, if you spent less time playing with dolls and more time outside, you could be spending New Year's with a girlfriend."

Clef turned to look at his grandfather, the old man smirking like he was so clever.

"That is his girlfriend," his grandmother added. They both smiled at him – just teasing, only teasing, didn't mean no harm.

Clef pushed a smile onto his own face. "If I went out, then I wouldn't be able to spend the holiday with you."

Usually New Year's Eve found the place brimming with people. This house was the heart of the family, Grandma and Grandpa the monarchs. Every New Year, the whole family gathered here to eat and drink and celebrate. They would watch the Himbeergeist ball drop and raise a toast to the countdown, then take a drink and dole out hugs and kisses as people cheered and music blared from the TV.

All that was gone this year.

He didn't even know why; coincidence, he supposed. Everyone just happened to have something else to do, somewhere else to be. The large living room seemed like a lonely, empty cavern with just the two forgotten relics sitting there in their matching reclining chairs.

Clef was glad he, at least, was here with them, boring as he was. "And besides," he said, standing from the crouched photographer's position. He turned his camera's display to them, showing off his work. "Look at this great shot I got."

They both leaned in so synchronized, one would almost think they actually liked each other. Clef suspected their fifty-five years of marriage only got its start because Grandma got knocked up, and only lasted because family was so important to them both.

"Looks nice," Grandma commented with a bob to her head.

Grandpa only snorted, and then dragged himself out of his chair. "Welp, I'm going to bed," he said, patting Clef on the back as he shuffled by. "Have fun with your dolls."

Clef forced a smile. "Good night, Gramps."

Grandma was a night owl, like Clef himself was. It was the reason his grandparents claimed for having separate rooms, so she could stay up and go to bed at her leisure, without waking Grandpa up, and so his snoring wouldn't bother her. She would likely soon shamble off to her own room to do her puzzles on her computer for a few hours, so Clef didn't feel too bad about bowing out so soon after the New Year had dropped.

"I have to work tomorrow morning," Clef said. "So I'm going to turn in too." Though, actually, he was probably more likely to sit in front of his own computer for a few hours before going to bed, then would ultimately complain about being tired all day. Even knowing that, he still leaned down to plant a kiss on his grandmother's cheek and gave a "Good night" before scooping up Gustav in his free hand and heading off to his domain in the basement.

One full third of the basement was his, though sometimes it didn't seem like he had even that. When his brother came over with his gaggle of kids who all seemed to need to scream right outside Clef's door instead of going _outside_ to play, a third of the basement didn't seem like nearly enough. There were times he wished he could claim the entire basement as his own and lock them out completely – out of the whole house would be even better. For someone whose aim was rock stardom, Clef just couldn't stand the particular brand of _noise_ caused by children.

But tonight, at least, it was quiet.

He carefully set the expensive camera down on his desk, and then used twice as much care to place Gustav back on the doll shelf, next to Achilles. Maybe it was silly; maybe his family was right to call him 'retarded', an almost grown man playing with dolls like a little girl, but in the privacy of his room, he allowed himself to smile at them. They were beautiful – tiny works of art – and Clef had a great appreciation for beauty.

"Happy New Year," he whispered to his collection, and then he moved to his desk, firing up PhotoSpot as he reached for the camera's hidden SD card.

Clef hated his job with a burning, driving passion. Much like living in his grandparents' basement, his only reason for being there was to get him through university, and then he would get a real job and a place of his own. None of that had happened yet, though, but to be fair, he had only just graduated less than a year ago.

He hated that red and khaki had taken over his predominately black wardrobe and he hated how the store kept his hours just shy of full-time, so he could only get part-time benefits and zero vacation. But most of all, he _hated_ Bullseye Mart customers. Near each and every one of them was a selfish, self-entitled piece of trash who thought a mere cashier didn't deserve a sliver of respect or kindness. Teenage girls were the worst – he could practically read the "Fatty" in their eyes even when they didn't openly mock him.

Even the customers who tried to be friendly often came off as little more than idiotic, with their constant "No price tag? Must be free!" "No price tag? Must be free!" "No price tag? Must be free!" Clef honestly wanted to punch the next asshole who said that, and he wanted to drop-kick the next illiterate fuck who screeched "It's on sale! There was a sign! There was a _sign_!" without realizing that the sign was for a completely different item because reading was _hard_.

They couldn't even read his nametag right, every other person in his line coming up with "Hey there, Cliff." Those who could be bothered to look at it for real all gave the same "Oops, they spelled your name wrong, Cliff."

"No, it's right," Clef said yet again as he rang up six two-liters of soda. This guy must have been having a New Year's party.

"Oh. Well, that's weird," the man said as he pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. "That short for 'Clefford' or something?"

"Clefton," he admitted.

The man laughed. "I think your parents missed the mark."

"Yeah." Clef gave a polite smile. "They didn't realize until I was a year old."

Money changed between them as the man continued to laugh. It was a bit excessive, but he was one of the better customers that had come through today. He called out a "Happy New Year, Clef" as he went, and Clef's return smile was a bit more genuine.

"Ugh, that guy looked just like my husband," Katie said as she draped herself over the side of Clef's register stall. "Gross."

Clef laughed. Katie was one of his favorite people, and the days they worked together were slightly more tolerable than others. She was chubbier than Clef, feminine and gorgeous, hated her husband but loved the shit out of her daughter, a little crazy, and completely hilarious. Perhaps today wouldn't be a complete loss. "You need to get yourself a mistress... A mister... A whatever the male version of a mistress is."

Katie laughed loud. "I'd take that blondie band mate of yours."

"Lan?" Clef's heart squeezed, which seemed like a completely irrational reaction. He got along well with Katie, but it wasn't like he liked her like _that_.

"Yeah, that one. I'd ride him aaall night. Does he like fat chicks?"

Clef honestly couldn't see Lan turning anyone down based on body size alone. Not that it mattered. "He has a girlfriend," Clef answered, lips pulling into a half smile.

"What a waste," Katie responded, making Clef chuckle again.

"I'm sure if he met you, he would dump his girlfriend in a heartbeat." It was a complete lie, of course. Not that Katie wasn't attractive enough to have had, according to her, far more than her fair-share of men before she was married, but Lan just wasn't the type. Chick-hopping was absolutely not his thing.

An airy voice cut into their conversation, sing-songing "S'up, bitches~" as Mikey sashayed up to them. Mikey was another one of Clef's favorite people, despite not quite being out of high school yet. Large in every way, from body to voice to personality, Mikey was high on Clef's list of people he liked working with. Now that the three of them were manning the registers together, work would almost be bearable – it might even be fun. "Notice anything different?" He posed this way and that, fluffing up the teal-blue scarf tied perfectly around his neck and shoulders.

"You got a haircut?" Clef guessed, though he already knew that wasn't the answer. Mikey's perfect, Ken-doll hair was the same as always.

"No~" Mikey drew out, preening at his scarf.

"New glasses?" Katie tried, though they all knew they were the same ol' silver frames.

Mikey smacked his hand on the ledge of Clef's stall. "My scarf!" Though he was smiling too.

"Oh, the scarf," Clef said. "I thought you had that before."

"This one's new." Mikey petted the scarf, smoothing his hands over the fluffy material. "My grandma gave it to me for Christmas." Then he giggled. "It's cashmere."

"Jackie's going to tell you to take it off, since it's not red."

"I don't care. Jackie can go fuck off." Then he smirked, trying to form his baby-face into something flirty. "Or _you_ can take it off of me, along with everything else." His daily flirting came early today.

"Need I remind you," Clef started once again. "That I am not gay?"

Mikey sighed. "It's a shame, really."

Clef just rolled his eyes, then turned to the approaching customer he caught heading towards his lane. His co-workers dispersed as the woman set a box of tampons on the counter, and Clef gave a polite greeting as he rang the single item up. Reciting the total and reaching a hand out to accept the woman's cash, Clef's smile fell when she instead dropped her money on the counter. Wordless, he picked up the bills and rang in the amount, digging her change from the register before near slamming the coins on the counter. Maybe this would be the time he got fired.

Thankfully, the chick just swiped her change off the counter, snatched up her bag, and stormed out of the store.

Clef's lip started to curl into a snarl, but he wiped it off his face fast when he heard another item land on his counter. "Hi there. How are-" He cut off when he saw it was just Katie, pushing a pack of extra-large adult diapers at him.

"Excuse me, sir," Katie said in an exaggerated, loud voice. "I'd like you to ring this up, but keep your dirty-ass hands away from me."

From the end of the lane, Mikey laughed loud, and they joined him for their down-time task of picking discarded items off the checkout lanes for the floor team to put back in the proper place. It was nice to have this bit of time to relax; the store had been crazy busy all morning, with people returning Christmas gifts and catching the New Year's sales, or just spending the free holiday shopping. It had only just started to slow down, which figured, since Clef's shift would be ending soon.

"Oh my god, _ew_ ," Mikey called from a lane over. Clef and Katie both turned to see him pull a carton of ice cream from the midst of final-clearance Christmas ornaments. The carton dripped thick vanilla, having clearly been there for a while; all the plush reindeer underneath it would have to be thrown away. It's not like it came out of Clef's pocket, so he shouldn't care, but the wastefulness of it pissed him off.

"Don't worry, I'll take it back to the freezer," Katie said as she strolled over and whisked the carton from Mikey's hands. She took three steps towards the grocery aisles, then called out "Oh no, I'm suddenly feeling far too _lazy_ to return it!" She threw herself to the ground, overdramatic, landing like a dead heap while Clef and Mikey cracked up at her antics.

"You're insane," Clef laughed. "One of these days, you're going to kill yourself."

"I think I just did," Katie replied, still lying on the dirty tile floor. "I can't move."

"Oh my god!" Mikey continued to laugh.

"I'm serious. I think I just threw my back out."

"Do you want me to carry you?" Clef asked, growing concerned though Katie herself was still smiling.

"Like you could lift my fat ass," Katie replied as she slowly climbed to her knees. "Ow, ow, ow."

Mikey rushed to offer a hand to help her up anyway, while Clef greeted an approaching customer, gesturing to his lane to distract from the employee crawling around as much as to provide oh-so-fantastic customer service. "I can help you right over here," he said, leading the woman and her fussy toddler towards the register.

"Don't touch that!" the woman scolded her kid while she unloaded a cart full of on-sale children's clothes onto the counter. Clef cringed as he began to ring her items up; the kid was climbing on the candy rack behind the next aisle over. "Those should all be on sale," she said to Clef then. "There was a sign."

"Okay," was Clef's only response, mentally willing pleasantry onto his face.

"Wait," the woman said just as Clef was about to ring some overalls up. She pulled them out of his hands and held them up, then finally said "You know what? I don't want these after all."

"Okay..." Clef said again, taking the rejected overalls and setting them on a shelf behind him.

"These either." The woman had begun going through all the items on his counter, putting some back down while handing others to Clef for his return shelf. And while Clef wanted to scream at the bitch to do her fucking shopping on the sales floor, not at the register, he instead just quietly bore it, even as she began to pull already rung-up items out of the plastic bullseye bags and sort through them. By the time she was done, there was a line of people extending from Clef's lane, Mikey and Katie both working customers through on either side of him to help with the sudden rush. Feet tapped, customers anxious to get on with their New Year's parties, and all Clef could do was jab the ' _cancel order_ ' button on his register. It would be far quicker and easier to start all over than to try and figure out which items needed to be removed from the woman's tab.

And just when he thought it was over, when he had finally handed the chick her receipt and began to mutter a "Thanks," the inevitable _crash_ came. The woman's kid began to scream as he fell, tearing the entire candy rack down with him. The other customers just stared at the mess, some shaking their heads disapprovingly as the woman grabbed her kid's wrist and yanked him off the floor.

"I told you not to touch anything!" she snapped. Then she looked up and huffed out a "Sorry about that, Cliff," before dragging her brat away.

Clef took a deep breath as his hand slowly reached for the price gun used to scan large items that couldn't be lifted onto the checkout counter. Locking gazes with Mikey, who had turned around to smirk sympathetic at Clef, he raised the gun to his head and pulled the trigger.

Happy fucking New Year.

The last thing Clef needed was a lecture from Jackie "Master of Backhanded Compliments" Abdul because some little cunt who didn't know how to shop like a person with a brain took his joke personally.

"She said you put the price gun to your head and said 'stupid, stupid, stupid' while you pulled the trigger when she was walking away," Jackie had explained, her tiny fingers gesturing the action on herself.

"I did put the gun to my head," Clef had told her, trying his damndest to play it off like a prank. "But it wasn't about her at all. It's just a joke between Mikey and I. I saw him looking my way, so I did it as our inside joke." Mikey would back him up on it if Jackie questioned it, even though Clef was making the little 'inside joke' up right then. "But I absolutely did _not_ say 'stupid' at all." He had just been thinking it really hard. "I didn't say anything."

Jackie's dark, perfectly-arched brow had lifted, but she remained silent for a moment. Then, finally, she said "Well, I know sometimes guests lie to try and get free stuff, so don't worry about it."

Clef had dared to breathe; he hated his job, but he needed it for now. "Thank you."

"Just be more careful."

"I will. Thanks."

So he was safe, this time, but the fact that some bitch had the balls to tattle on him for a joke and _lie_ about him calling her stupid to her face, right after her shitty brat had made a disaster out of his checkout lane and offered no help to clean it up, had him burning with fury through the rest of his shift, and it didn't get better on the drive home.

He was already about to tear someone's face off when he got to his house and found the entire driveway packed with cars. It looked like his father, brother, and the team of kids that usually accompanied them had shown up for New Year's at last, as well as a couple cousins and an uncle.

" _Fuck_ ," Clef hissed as he parked halfway down the street, hiking his way back to the house. Surely someone would tell him he needed the exercise anyway.

Their parents had divorced years ago, and Clef honestly had no idea where his mother was these days. His brother, Jacob, had moved into Dad's house after he got married, along with his wife, Darlene, and the kid they had already had. They then promptly began to have another kid after kid after kid after kid. They took over the house, driving Dad to his own basement, but because they were all such _precious babies_ , they were allowed to overrun everywhere they went.

The first time Clef had ever heard the term "baby rabies" was when he was in the fifth grade, back when they lived in Himbeergeist. His teacher at the time had revealed that his family often pressured him to start having children, because that was the only achievement they considered worthwhile. Clef didn't really understand it then, but he sure did now. As the first of his generation, including all of his cousins, to graduate high school and the only one to attend and graduate university, despite being one of the youngest amongst them, Clef felt like he deserved at least an iota of respect from his family. Instead, his drop-out brother and knocked-up-at-sixteen sister-in-law got all the praise, for having so many beautiful children.

"Well, look who showed up," his dad called from the kitchen when Clef went in the side door. The engineering company he worked for was closed for the holiday – seemed everyone had gotten the day off except Clef.

"Did you eat?" Grandma asked. Despite her age, she was still head chef of the family, and took her job of making sure everyone was well-fed seriously.

"I had a pizza on my break." And some fries on the way home.

"Countin' calories, are ya?" Uncle Rick said with a smirk, a low and hypocritical shot at Clef's weight.

He was already pissed off from work, and the childish screams coming from the living room were _not_ helping his temperament any. He wasn't in the mood to put up with teasing right then, and didn't especially feel like giving them the chance to make him out to be the family bad guy again, so Clef just gave a "Yep," and then immediately bee-lined for the basement stairs.

He just wanted to relax in his own home, but that was apparently far too much to ask for in this house. The kids playing in the living room sounded like elephants stomping right over his head, thunderous footsteps that shouldn't be possible from such scrawny brats.

Tearing off the god-awful red and khaki uniform, Clef slipped on his worn, old Deathbed Hillbillies t-shirt and a pair of ripped jeans, then threw himself on his bed, burying his face in his pillow. He thought about taking a nap, certainly tired enough to sleep forever after all the New Year's bullshit, but every time he drifted off, another stomp from above had his eyes popping open and his fingers curling into claws of frustration. Eventually, he gave up, instead reaching down for his discarded work pants and pulling his phone from the back pocket.

He didn't have many apps on his phone. He had downloaded Peekymon Go when it came out because the characters were cute and he swore it would give him incentive to do more walking. It didn't, though, and his PeekyBox was mostly empty. And then he had downloaded a digital tuner app for his bass guitar, but even that went mostly unused, since he usually just did his tuning by ear.

The only apps Clef used regularly were the texting app, so he could keep in touch with his band mates and the other doll collectors in the province, and a Japanese rhythm-music game called 'Rock Show'. Though he didn't speak a word of Japanese, the game was pretty easy to figure out, and had a card-collecting component in addition to the rhythm-tapping. Clef liked it because it had a large variety of music, from bouncy pop to hard rock to school-girls singing heavy metal. Even if he couldn't understand the lyrics, it had music he could feel, and was his go-to mindless game for when he wanted to chill or just needed to kill some time.

It didn't take much thought to play the game, and it wasn't unusual for Clef to realize his mind had wandered completely in the middle of a song, but he still managed to play near perfect rounds. Music came very naturally to him, flowing through him like lifeblood, and it was rare for him to miss a beat even on the harder levels.

It was a clear sign, then, that the evening was royally fucked when he got more ' _good_ ' or ' _bad_ ' hits than ' _perfect_ ', even on his favorite songs. The consistent pounding overhead confused his sense of rhythm, and he was on the verge of giving up anyway when a knock came to his door.

Clef sighed, pulled the phone away from his face, and called out "Yeah?"

Stacey slid the flimsy door open and asked "Hey, what are you doing? Playing your game?"

"Trying to," Clef answered as he sat up on the bed.

Coming into the room despite not actually being invited, his cousin began to look around at the mess of stuff. Clef's room was basically clean, but cluttered. He had a lot of junk he just couldn't seem to get rid of – old papers that may or may not have been important, keys he didn't know what for, an empty bird cage from when he had tried to have a pet – and tended to just make piles of random _stuff_. He claimed he knew exactly what was in each pile, but that wasn't always true. "I don't see how you can play that when you can't even understand the lyrics."

When they were younger, Clef considered Stacey one of his best friends. They were just a few months apart in age, and as kids were very close. Clef enjoyed playing with her bright and sparkly My Lovable Horsey dolls far more than his own ugly Army Jack figures, and they had always found so much amusement dressing up in Grandma's old scarves to make silly costumes. As they grew older, though, they grew apart, Stacey becoming far more interested in being popular and fucking as many guys as possible in some kind of attempt to boost her self-esteem, while Clef turned more and more to his music.

"You don't need to be able to understand the lyrics to feel the music."

"I can't get into music if I can't understand what they're saying." It was always the same; his family got downright offended if he dare listen to anything in a language other than English. They would probably lynch him if they knew that he had watched a foreign movie once.

"Perhaps you should try poetry instead of pretending to care about music."

"Excuse me?" Her green eyes turned to him, hot.

"Nothing," Clef replied, not wanting to get into it right now, when his head was starting to pound as much as his ceiling was.

Stacey turned to the doll shelves next. "Still playing with dolls?" Yep, she was mad.

"I don't play with them; I just take pictures of them." It was his standard explanation for people who just didn't get it. "My hobby is photography, and they're just... my models. It's not like I sit here, acting out scenes with them."

"Can't you photograph real people?"

"No, I don't want to have to wait for someone to make time for me, and I can't afford to pay a professional model." And he spent enough time working with real people as it was. Sometimes he just wanted to be around 'people' who shut the fuck up every now and then. "With these guys, I can take pictures any time I want, anywhere I want, without fuss." They were more gorgeous than real humans besides.

"How do you expect to ever get laid? Anyone you bring here is going to think you're a fag."

A bite of anger rose through the sour mood already gnawing at his gut, made all the worse by how Stacey didn't even seem to realize what a shitty comment that was. "I wouldn't want to be with someone who judged me like that anyway." He, at least, had standards.

"I couldn't even sleep in a room like this," she continued like he hadn't said anything. "I would be too scared of them coming alive and killing me." She plucked Morris off the shelf by his head, holding him close to her face to analyze him with a critical eye and curled lip. "This one's ugly."

Clef slid off of his bed at last. "I take care of my shit," he said as he pulled the doll out of Stacey's hand and set him back on the shelf. "So I'd like to think that if they _were_ to come alive, they would help and protect me. But it's a moot issue anyway, since that will never happen."

"It could."

"No, it couldn't. Magic isn't real. There's no such thing as fairies and werewolves, you can't cast spells, and inanimate objects don't come to life."

"Magic _is_ real."

And Clef was the 'retarded' one for playing with dolls. "It's scientifically stupid."

"All right, college-boy." Then Stacey reached out and flicked Morris's tiny forehead, knocking the doll over and making his head thunk against the shelf. Clef was about to snap – Morris was his cheapest doll, but Clef had still needed to save up for four months to buy him. "I hope they eat you in your sleep." She left without another word or look back, depriving Clef of his chance to retort that one didn't need a college education to know that magic wasn't real.

He took Morris from the shelf and inspected him for damage, checking under his wig for cracks and making sure all of his fingers were still there. Satisfied that the doll was still pristine, Clef sat him back down in his place, then after a moment of thought, changed Morris's pose so that his arms were crossed and his head tilted down, looking grumpy at the mistreatment. The pose brought a hint of a smile to Clef's face, one that immediately disappeared when the rough play from above crashed its way down the stairs, to the open area of the basement.

They were in his domain. They were yelling and screaming and laughing right outside his door, and there was nothing Clef could do about it, because their right to screech trumped his right to a bit of peace after a ten-hour work shift.

He snatched his headphones off his desk, jamming the ear buds into his ears and shoving the jack into his phone. He tried to ignore the noise; he tried so hard to pretend those little shits weren't there, turning the volume on his game up as much as he dared, close to risking hearing damage, but he could still hear them. He could still sense them, their obnoxious presence looming closer and closer, somehow.

And then his door tore open, nearly ripping from the track that held it up, as a pile of little assholes fell into his room. They laughed, right up until Clef stood and _screamed_ "What the _fuck_!?!"

Their smiles and play disappeared, as if realizing for the first time that their actions actually affected other people. "Sorry," Danny, the second-oldest, said. "It was an accident."

"Get the _fuck_ out!" Clef raged. It didn't matter if it was an accident, a claim that was doubtful anyway. They shouldn’t have been that close to his room; there was _no reason_ for them to be right the fuck next to his door.

The kids scrambled out of the doorway as Clef stormed up to the door, and then he grabbed the handle and slammed the door shut. A second later, he heard multiple sets of footsteps head up the stairs; it would only be a matter of time before the pounding overhead started again.

He yanked the headphones from his ears, pulling the jack from his phone and tossing them onto the cluttered coffee table next to his bed. He preferred to play without them, and maybe in the short reprieve of silence that had fallen he could actually manage to play a song.

He couldn't, though. He couldn't play at all, doing even worse than before. His concentration was shot, his fingers jabbed the phone hard enough that he was almost surprised it didn't break, and his eyes saw more blood-red rage than game screen. When the hard rock song he was attempting suddenly stopped and the gate announcing his failure closed on the animated stage, Clef growled a loud " _Fuck_!" and _threw_ the phone at his bed, too pissed off to be relieved that it hit the cushioning pillow instead of the headboard.

Breathing heavy, Clef spent a moment fuming quietly to himself, and then a knock came. Without waiting for a response, the door opened and his dad came in. "Clef, I need to talk to you."

Fucking great.

"Now, I don't agree with it, because they do it too," his dad said as he sat on the end of Clef's bed. "But Darlene and them wanted me to talk to you about swearing in front of the kids."

Clef wanted to yell that they deserved it for barging into his space, or apologize and say it just slipped out in the heat of the moment and that it would never happen again, but instead he just shut down, turning his head to the side, eyes burning holes in the carpet, lips welded shut. This was his father, the person who had been there for him and raised him his whole life; Clef couldn't bring himself to talk back or lie and claim remorse to him.

It being his father lecturing him was also what made it hurt so much more.

When he finally understood that he wasn't going to get anything out of Clef right then, his dad stood and said a defeated "Just, be good," before leaving the room, closing the door behind him.

For a while, Clef stood still, holding the rage inside himself until it exploded. His leg reared back and he kicked the desk chair, sending it crashing into his dresser, and then turned to the footboard of his bed, where his father had been sitting. He kicked the wooden frame again and again, until a chunk of wood flew off of it, leaving a gaping scar in the once-nice finish. "If you didn't agree with it, then why didn't you stick up for me!?!" he screamed into the empty room.

Then he grabbed a small tote bag from his open closet, throwing his wallet, keys, and phone into it, followed more carefully by Gustav, since Clef was the little, faggy _retard_ who got comfort from looking at dolls, after all. Yanking on his coat, he dropped the tote bag onto his arm, and then grabbed the hard, black case holding his bass guitar. After locking his bedroom door, Clef pounded up the stairs, ignoring the family who called out to him as he stormed through the kitchen and out the side door, into the freezing cold winter night.

Nobody came after him – Clef couldn't decide if he was glad about that or not – and once he was in his car he took a second to simply _scream_ out loud, vocalizing his pure rage until his throat was raw and burning. He punched a heavy fist against the steering wheel, and then turned the key in the ignition and slammed on the gas.

He didn't have anywhere to go. His friends would all be spending the holiday with their families or loved ones, any stores he might have wanted to browse around at were closed, and it was too fucking cold to hang out at a park. He wasn't even sure why he had brought his bass; perhaps just wanting to keep the things that made him happiest close, or perhaps this would be the night he finally ran away and would need it to be a homeless street musician.

He ended up in the parking lot of a twenty-four-hour superstore, head bowed, resting against the car's steering wheel. The anger had started to fizzle out of him, leaving him exhausted and _sad_. He felt like he had no one on his side, no one to care about how he felt, no one to stand by him and support him.

A light _thump_ hit the roof of Clef's car, and his head shot up, startled. It sounded like a bird or something had dropped right out of the sky and landed on top of the car, but there shouldn't be any birds around this time of the year. It must have been an errant pine cone, carried by the wind, and Clef opened the car door and climbed out to inspect for damage.

There was a smear in the layer of winter dirt that would cover his car until the weather warmed enough for him to take it through a car wash and not have the whole vehicle freeze over instantly. Something had definitely hit the roof, and Clef circled a lap around his car, leaving the door open for light, searching the ground in case there really was an injured bird in need of help. Not that he would have any idea of what to do if he did find something.

He didn't find anything. If it had been a bird, it must have righted itself and flew off right away, because there was nothing on the ground around his car besides a few discarded cigarette butts and the first few flakes of an oncoming snowfall.

Clef got back into his car and breathed. The momentary distraction had been a breath of fresh air, both figuratively and literally. His head was clear, and he could finally, calmly, start to think of what to do next. Reaching over, he pushed down one flimsy side of the canvas tote bag until Gustav's little face appeared. "Well, what do you think we should do?"

Gustav didn't respond, of course, because magic wasn't real and dolls didn't come to life, but following the trail of his arm showed that Gustav's hand had just happened to land on Clef's phone, as if giving a suggestion.

At last, Clef smiled. "I'm sure everyone is busy, but maybe there's at least one person who won't hang up on me right away."

Clef would probably consider Landler Chanson his best friend, though he was sure the feeling wasn't mutual. Lan was the lead singer and guitarist of the band Clef was in, the de-facto leader of the band, and one of the most musically talented people Clef had ever met. They were introduced by Cadence, Clef's university classmate at the time, back when the band was first being put together and they needed a bassist. Four years later, the group had a handful of pretty good songs in their repertoire, and had even performed at a few local rock festivals. Their dream was to make it big, but Clef had to admit that, lately, that dream was feeling just out of reach.

"Hey," Clef said when their lines connected and he heard Lan's friendly greeting. He felt shy all of a sudden. "Happy New Year."

"Happy New Year to you," Lan returned, a smile in his voice that Clef could almost hear fade away. "Are you alright?"

Clef could spill the whole story, the trouble at work and fight with his family, and Lan would quietly listen, giving the advice and support that seemed to escape those who were supposed to be closer to Clef than anyone. He didn't want to do that, though. He didn't want to ruin Lan's holiday as his own had been ruined. So instead, he just said "Yeah, man. I'm just tired. Had to work the early shift today. Ten hours of people whining that they didn't get what they wanted for Christmas." He pushed out a laugh, and when Lan puffed out a small chuckle of his own, Clef suddenly felt like he was being a bother. "Well, anyway, I just wanted to wish you a happy New Year. You're probably with your family, right? Or Lindsay? So, have a good ni-"

"I'm alone," Lan said before Clef could flee the conversation. "My folks are out of town and Linds is with her family. I was just about to make a New Year's feast for myself."

He hoped he wasn't wrong, but Clef got the impression that Lan pointedly mentioning that he was alone was some kind of invitation. Maybe he was lonely without his girlfriend around to celebrate with, and that was okay. Clef needed somewhere to go anyway, so he asked "Oh, well... Would you like some company?"

This time the smile stayed in Lan's voice as he answered "Sure, sounds great. Have you eaten? I can make enough for two."

"I haven't, and I'm starving. If you don't mind..."

"I have enough spaghetti that even Cade couldn’t eat it all," Lan laughed into the phone. "Sparing a little extra for you is no problem."

"Thanks." It was nice to be treated like a human being, for once.

"Are you going to bring any of your dolls?"

Clef's face went warm. As the closest friends he had, his band mates knew he collected dolls. Once he had really gotten to know them and grew comfortable with them, he admitted outright that sometimes he would have to miss practice so that he could attend meetups with the other local doll collectors. They had seemed so cool about it that when Morris arrived, Clef took the new doll to practice to show them. Cade said it was kind of weird, but overall the reception was fine. They didn't kick him out of the band or tease him, didn't say he was too old for toys or that guys weren't allowed to like dolls.

They hadn't really mentioned the dolls again since then, though. Clef had wondered if his band mates had forgotten about his other hobby – now he wondered if they were a little bit weirded out by it after all. "N-No, I wasn't planning to," Clef stuttered. "I mean, why would I? Especially if you don't want me to. There's not even a reason to-"

"Dude," Lan cut in, amusement in his voice. "I just need to know how many plates to take out."

Clef paused and his heart thudded, and then his eyes drifted over to where Gustav seemed to watch him from the tote bag, and he smiled. "Well, maybe I'll bring one."

Lan never went to college, instead getting hired on by an advertising agency straight out of high school, writing and recording musical jingles for TV and radio commercials. It was a surprisingly lucrative career, since advertising was one industry that wouldn't be taken over by robots any time soon. Lan made enough money to have bought his own detached condominium in a nice neighborhood, and could work from home most of the time. It made for a perfect place for the band to practice, no family members to tell them to keep it down and neighbors who either were rarely at home or just didn't care enough to complain. Most of their equipment, like Clef's amp and Gaku's entire drum set, were simply left at Lan's place, waiting patiently for the next practice session.

Honestly, Clef was jealous. He would give almost anything to be able to move out and live on his own, and to be able to make music – even unaccredited commercial jingles – for a living. But he just didn't have Lan's talent or charisma, wasn't sought after like Lan, didn't play six instruments like Lan.

They jammed together while waiting for the meatballs to finish cooking, taking turns playing off of each other, sometimes harmonizing the two electric guitars. Clef had fallen in love with the deep sounds of his bass all over again by the time the kitchen timer went off, and he stared lovingly at the metallic, charcoal-gray instrument before laying it to rest in its protective case and following Lan up the stairs to the kitchen.

"Check it out," Lan said from the stove, holding up a tiny meatball with a pair of tongs, grin lighting up his face. He had prepared a teacup saucer of spaghetti for Gustav, complete with sauce and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese, without a hint of mocking or irony. He smiled bright, looking as though he were genuinely having fun making the tiny props.

"That is _really_ cute," Clef said with a laugh as he dug out his phone from the tote bag.

"Isn't it, though?" Lan beamed as he served the completed meal. "It's a masterpiece."

They had piled a phone book and some empty boxes on one of the dining room chairs so that Gustav could reach the table, and Lan had created a whole little place setting for the doll. It really was adorable, though Clef was trying his hardest not to completely gush over the setup. He opened the camera app on his phone and lined up the shot, tapping the shutter button. It was a decent picture on its own – would have been even better if he had his real camera with him – and Clef immediately uploaded it to the doll collectors' group chat, sending a note along with it that it was a _non_ -collector friend who set the whole scene up.

A comment came back almost instantly. ' _Marry them_.'

Clef smiled. ' _It's a guy_ ,' he texted back.

' _I don't care. Marry him_.'

' _i wish my non doll friends would mke stuff 4 my guyz_ ,' someone else replied.

' _Next meetup, I'll show you the collapsible light box my husband built for my dolls_ ,' came another comment. ' _It's really professional_.'

' _jelly_!'

Giving an amused snort, Clef closed the chat app and turned off his phone, slipping it into his back pocket before sitting behind the waiting plate of spaghetti. "Thanks for this," he said, turning his smile to Lan. "You didn't have to go through all the trouble."

"I know," Lan replied before feeding a forkful of spaghetti into his mouth. Once he had chewed and swallowed, he added "I'm grateful for the company."

Clef smiled again, heart warming, and for a while they ate in companionable silence, though Clef had to actively work to keep from laughing. For all his perfection, Lan was a notoriously messy eater. He somehow ended up with pasta sauce smeared across his cheek and in his bright, blond hair. Honestly, it just made him all the more endearing. It almost wasn't fair.

"You're a mess," Clef said with a smirk when their food was gone.

Lan swiped his arm across his face and then analyzed the amount of sauce that came off with it. "Good thing I'm wearing a white shirt."

"It's in your hair, too," Clef laughed.

"I am but a small child," Lan huffed as he stood from his chair and shuffled off towards the bathroom.

Clef smiled again, softly. Katie would likely feint if she could see Lan like this; she was already crushing on him hard enough from just the few glances she got when Lan stopped by the store to pick up a few items and chat with Clef. And Clef found himself jealous of Lan once again. He wished silly little things like eating messy made him cute too, instead of just awkward.

He stood, taking up his and Lan's plates and carrying them to the sink. He had just finished rinsing them both and loading them into the dishwasher when Lan came back, face and hands clean and the front of his hair damp. "Oh, thanks," Lan said, and then he moved towards the table again.

"No problem," Clef answered as he reached for a towel. The room went silent for a moment, the only sound being the _pat pat pat_ of Clef drying off his hands, and it suddenly struck him as a rather domestic scene, which was stupid, since they were both guys.

The sound of two glasses clinking together startled Clef for a moment, and then he turned to see Lan heading towards the sink carrying their drink glasses and an empty saucer. "You ate your doll's food?" Lan questioned with an amused grin on his face.

"Um, no..." Clef replied. Not that he hadn't ever eaten real food that had been used as a prop – to just throw it away would be wasteful. " _You_ were the one over there just now."

"The plate was already clean when I came out here." His blue eyes were twinkling, mischievous.

"Oh, okay," Clef laughed, going along with the obvious joke. "Then clearly Gustav must have eaten it himself."

"That must be it," Lan laughed. Then he flitted over to the table and scooped Gustav up, and unlike Stacey before, he did it properly, holding the doll seated in one hand, the other wrapped around the doll's chest, supporting his weight and keeping him from falling. "Poor little guy must have been starving!" He waltzed towards the stairs to the basement-turned-music room, in a playful mood that he rarely showed anyone outside of the band. Clef wondered if Lindsay had ever seen this side of Lan.

Clef chased after Lan, reaching the music room just in time to see him set Gustav on top of the grand piano that took up an entire corner of the wide open room. Then, taking a seat on the bench, Lan began to play, clearly making up a song on the spot as he stared lovingly into Gustav's acrylic eyes, serenading the doll. " _Tiny little face, in this large and frightening place. I would give it all up to protect you. You'll never be alone, if you make my arms your home. Could never know just what you have been through._ " He smiled silly, then leaned up, puckered lips closing in on Gustav, eyes slowly closing.

Clef pushed him off the piano bench. Laughing as he hit the ground, Lan raised his arms, seeming to brace himself for the oncoming attack that Clef was obliged to deliver. He pounced on Lan, straddling his hips and pining his wrists. He had a weight advantage, that was for sure, but Clef really wasn't much of a fighter. Lithe and squirmy, Lan somehow managed to knock Clef off-balance, flinging him down and springing up to switch their positions. They both laughed until they were out of breath as they wrestled, and all the hurt and bullshit of the day seemed to melt away as Clef rolled around with his friend.

When a laughed-out puff of breath blew Clef's brown hair from his eyes, he realized for the first time just how close their faces were, how pressed together their bodies were. He froze, suddenly becoming acutely aware of every place his and Lan's bodies touched – Lan's hand on his forearm above their heads, Lan's flat stomach resting against his gut, Lan's knee planted between his legs. His cock pulsed, and Clef immediately sat up, praying that Lan hadn't felt it.

"Are you alright?" Lan asked, eyes going concerned, seeming to sense the change in Clef's movements.

"Yeah, I-" His voice caught in his throat. Those sincere blue eyes were making him harder, but it wasn't right. He wasn't gay or anything. He had no problem with that kind of thing, but it just wasn't him. "I just remembered something I needed to do for my grandma. I totally forgot, but I don't want to let her down, so I think I need to go do it now before I forget again." He practically scampered to his feet.

"Oh, well, do you need some help? Is it something that will go faster with two people?"

"No," Clef replied quickly. "It's a family thing. Sorry." Lan wouldn't push. "Thank you for dinner." He plucked Gustav off the piano and tucked him under his arm, then picked up his guitar case and hurried towards the stairs.

"It was fun hanging out," Lan said from behind him, and the concern coloring his voice made Clef's dick throb.

"Yeah," Clef answered as he fit Gustav back into the tote bag. "Sorry to run off so suddenly, but I did have fun. Thanks for having me over." It sounded like the end of a date, and Clef's face warmed as he gathered up his things, not even bothering to put his coat on before he rushed to the front door. "See ya. Say hi to Lindsay for me."

He practically flung his bass into the back of his car before setting the tote bag on the passenger seat. Then, for the second time that night, he pressed his face against the steering wheel. He couldn't believe how hard he was, and pressing a hand to his groin only made it worse – or better. He kneaded his crotch, gasping, and seriously considered rubbing one out right there until his head jerked up, realizing Lan was still lingering in the condo's doorway, seeing Clef off.

He ducked a nod, fired up the ignition, and eased out of the driveway.

The house was blissfully empty when he got home, far too late now for even people with nothing to do the following day to be hanging out. After his stuff was set down and Gustav in his usual place, Clef pulled his computer chair back over to his desk and plopped down into it, letting out a frustrated sigh.

It was because of the rubbing, he told himself over and over. A natural bodily reaction to accidental stimulation, not because it was Lan. He wasn't gay. Anything could set him off – rubbing against the carpet or riding a motorcycle. It just happened to be his best friend's hips this time, but that didn't mean anything.

But he couldn't quite convince himself completely, and it scared him.

He reached for his mouse and gave it a shake, waking his computer from its slumber, and then pulled up his favorite porn site. His left hand gripped himself through his jeans, still painfully hard despite his inner turmoil. He needed to come, and he quickly clicked around for something good to watch to help him along. Lesbians, preferably; he wanted as many tits as possible.

He found something suitable with a pair of leggy blondes and unzipped his pants, pulling his hard dick from its confines and stroking it lightly as he watched the girls on the screen gyrate against each other. It felt good, the familiar pleasure of his own touch, and he brought his right hand down to cup his balls as the girls began to undress each other. It was only when the girls leaned in for a heated kiss, though, that his cock became really interested, lengthening, throbbing hard. Clef managed to smirk at himself even as he softly gasped – wasn't he just the romantic?

The girls' breasts pressed together and it was nice; Clef studied the crush of soft flesh as he swiped his hand over the head of his dick, spreading the dribbling pre-cum. When the girls on-screen began to frantically finger each other, Clef tightened his fist around his erection, pumping along with them. His legs spread, hips rocking in small movements instinctively, wanting to push harder and faster into the pleasure. His eyes flitted closed.

He saw Lan's face hovering above him, lips descending upon his. It was Lan's hands touching him, stroking him, urging him to come, and it felt _so_ good.

Clef's eyes popped open. He didn't want that; he didn't want Lan. He wanted those chicks on the screen, wanted to straddle their chests and shove his dick between their tits. He squeezed his erection tighter as he thought about dragging his balls across a girl's sternum, then grabbing hold of that mass of long hair and leading her mouth to his cock, but it didn't do any good. His interest waned.

He closed his eyes again, and the scene changed. It was Lan's mouth on him, sucking and licking. Lan used his tongue and lips to hit all those sensitive places on Clef's cock. He took in as much as he could, near choking on the thick erection, but Clef could see the smile in Lan's eyes. He wanted to get Clef off, wanted to swallow down every drop of Clef's cum, and Clef wanted to give it to him. He groaned and pressed deeper into Lan's mouth, pulling back a bit and then pushing in again. His cock ached, needing release, pressure building, and then Lan's bright blue eyes flicked up to meet Clef's, and he was gone. He came hard, crying out loud, his seed exploding from him in a rush of incomparable pleasure. It stole his breath away, making his mind go blank, only feeling the bliss of such an intense orgasm.

He breathed, panting, and then slowly opened his eyes again. Lan faded away as Clef saw the video still playing. One of the girls had her head stuffed between the other's legs, lapping at her pussy. Right then, Clef only felt disgusted.

But mostly, he felt disgusted at himself. He didn't want to fuck a guy. He didn't want to _fantasize_ about fucking a guy. He got enough shit from his family and everyone else about being a fat loser as it was; he didn't need to throw in being a homo on top of that. And how disrespectful to Lan, thinking of him like that. What a piece of shit he was.

Shame hanging over him like a black fog, Clef reached for the tissues to begin cleaning up.

A shower made everything better, washing off the day's filth and his own disgrace. Feeling fresh and clean, he could convince himself that that had been a one-time thing, an anomaly brought on by the day's frustrations and Lan's supportive friendship. He had been vulnerable all day, that's why it had happened. It didn't mean anything.

His flannel pajamas felt soft against his skin and he rubbed a towel over his tousle of dark hair while his eyes idly landed on his dolls. A smile found its way to his lips as he considered his lovely collection.

He started collecting because of an online friend. He had met Nez briefly at a rock festival she had performed at, and he became a fan instantly, drawn to her cool style and warm friendliness. He followed her on YuuTube, only to learn via her vlogs that she also collected dolls. Clef was amazed when he found her first video that introduced her crew. They were gorgeous, fully articulated, and completely customizable. Nez had given each of her dolls a name, a personality, and their own individual style. It looked like fun, a lovely creative outlet, and Clef became more and more enamored with the hobby the more he looked into it. And despite what his family believed, it actually wasn't that uncommon at all to find other male collectors.

Gustav had been his first, and had a special place in Clef's heart because of it. When he saw the doll's lonely little face on the maker's website, he couldn't _not_ buy him. Clef had been studying German as his foreign language elective at the time, and came up with the name as a joke, but it ended up sticking.

They were expensive, a high-end luxury item that by all means Clef shouldn't have been able to afford with what Bullseye Mart paid him, but he was a tenacious saver. Younger collectors claimed he must have been rich – how nice for him – and didn't seem to understand that if they put aside a few bucks every week, in six months they would have enough for a new doll. His dad had just about flipped when he found out the price of one, yelling that Clef was wasting his money, all while sucking down two packs of cigarettes a day. Clef didn't talk about the cost of his dolls or any of his hobbies with his family anymore.

After Gustav came Hiro, with his beautiful Asian eyes. Clef let Gaku name that one. Then it was his big guy, Liam, and after that the smirky Achilles. Morris was his most recent, his least expensive, and definitely _not_ ugly, though the lower price did, admittedly, come with a slightly less perfected facial structure.

And then there was the gray-skin one, smaller and thinner than the others. That one...

Clef didn't recognize that one at all.

"What the fuck?" he muttered to himself as he stared at the unknown doll. He had never seen it before, never seen anything like it, and had no idea where it even could have come from.

Confused, he reached up and pulled the doll from the shelf, surprised at how different it was from the others, and not just in size. It _felt_ different; its nude body – male, he noted – was soft and pliant like flesh, its gray skin warmer than expected. Its waist-length hair was gray like its skin, fading into black near the ends, and didn't come off when Clef tugged on it, like doll wigs normally did. Its eyes were gray too, shimmering like there was life behind them, and though Clef had spent a lot of time browsing doll eyes for his guys, he had never seen any like these before. They looked actually wet.

And though fantasy dolls were nothing new, the double pair of fairy wings that sprouted from the thing's back had some of the most stunning, most delicate craftsmanship Clef had ever seen, like smoky-gray stained glass.

"What the _fuck_?" Clef whispered again, staring hard at the doll's face.

And then the doll scowled, hissing in a harsh voice "Put me down, shithead."


	2. Chapter 2

"Put me down, shithead."

Clef screamed in an entirely un-manly way and threw the doll away from him. He had been so very wrong; magic was real and this doll had come to life and was going to eat him. His family would find nothing but bones, picked clean by the tiniest of teeth. He only hoped that his beloved bass guitar found a loving new home instead of being thrown away outright.

The talking doll, or whatever it was, hung in the air, wings flapping soundlessly. It looked angry, brow creased, and then its eyes narrowed and it flew towards Clef.

Clef smacked it away, mostly out of reflex, like dealing with a bug that was trying to get up in his face. The doll – _creature_ ; there was no way this was just a talking doll – was knocked halfway across the large room, but seemed to catch itself in the air. Its arms wrapped protectively around its head for a moment as it hung there, motionless aside from the beating of its wings, and then it suddenly turned and _glared_ at Clef. If it had looked merely angry before, now it looked _pissed_.

It came at him fast, heading straight for Clef's face. Clef swung again and missed, the little thing too quick for his lumbering flailing. It darted in and punched Clef in the cheek, which made Clef flinch, but actually didn't hurt at all. He saw the thing back up a few inches, scowling that its attack didn't have any effect, and then it shot forward again, slamming its whole body into Clef's face.

Clef swatted at it, managing to knock the thing away from him again, but it was instantly flying at him once more. Clef dodged, but it rebounded, changing trajectory on a dime and coming at him again, kneeing him in the temple. It grabbed chunks of Clef's hair and _pulled_ , and that actually hurt, causing Clef to let out an annoyed little growl. He smacked it away again, but it kept coming at him, sometimes landing blows, sometimes missing when Clef managed to dodge.

He ducked down and grabbed his discarded red polo shirt off the floor – it was time to change tactics. When the thing flew at him again, Clef swung the shirt at it, trying to catch it. He missed, the thing darting out of the way, but at least it was mad enough to come at him again, giving Clef a second, third, fourth chance to try and ensnare it in the red cloth. He lucked out on the sixth attempt, reflexes snapping at just the right moment to bring the shirt up at an awkward but unexpected sideways angle, capturing the little pest. Then Clef bundled up the open side of the shirt in a fist, preventing any escape, and held on tight.

The thing screamed in rage, the part of the shirt it was stuck in seeming to bubble with the constant barrage of kicks and punches as the creature fought to get out. Clef quickly searched his room, looking for something to do with it, half tempted to just take it outside and let it go, but now far too curious about just what the fuck it was. He spotted the unused bird cage next to his TV and rushed over to it. Holding the door open with one hand, he held the closed-off shirt up to the opening, and then opened his fist slowly. The thing zoomed out of its confines, slamming straight into the bars on the other side of the cage, and Clef dropped the door and latched it shut.

Then Clef stepped away slowly, watching in wonder as the creature bashed itself around the cage, pulling on and kicking the bars, trying to get out. It screamed and growled the entire time, furious, but when it flew to the door and tried to unsuccessfully yank it open, Clef saw its eyes, and his heart thudded painfully.

It was scared.

There was terror in those shimmering gray eyes. It was fighting for its life against the cold, metal cage, having been caught by someone a hundred times larger than it was. It was helpless, and Clef actually began to feel sorry for the little monster.

"I won't hurt you," Clef said as he approached the cage one careful step at a time. The thing had spoken at him in plain English, so he figured it would be able to understand him. He crouched in front of the cage, putting his face level with the small creature. "I just want to know what you are."

"Let me out, you piece of shit," it snarled at him.

"Are you a fairy?"

"How dare you!?" The creature kicked the cage door, looking beyond offended. "Don't _ever_ compare me with those perverted pieces of trash! Don't you even know the difference between a fairy and a pixie!? Are you stupid!? Now let me _out_!"

Clef was too amazed to let the insults get to him. Pixies were _real_. He almost couldn't believe it; he would have thought he was dreaming if his scalp didn't still smart from where the thing had yanked on his hair. It was violent and rude, but it was an actual, honest-to-goodness pixie. "Where are you from?"

The pixie was silent a moment, fine brows still drawn into a scowl, and then finally it – _he_ , Clef reminded himself, the tiny dick hanging between its legs shamelessly denoting it was a boy – took on a resigned look. "I'm from the forest," he answered.

"The forest? What forest?"

" _The_ forest!" the pixie said as he kicked the bars of the cage door again. "How many forests do you think there are!?"

"There are a lot of forests," Clef answered, and the way the pixie's head jerked and brow creased gave Clef the impression that this was new information to him, like he had no idea there was a whole world outside of wherever he was from. It reminded Clef of the first time he ever got an inkling that the world was bigger than just his own province of Verger. He had been sitting on his grandmother's lap at the time, just a tiny tyke, watching a video of cartoon mice singing about how 'there were no cats in Thamesland'. Little Clef had asked Grandma if there really weren't any cats in Thamesland, and she answered that they were in Thamesland right then, and she had her all-black Persian cat, Charlie. Clef's world had grown so much larger that day.

And it grew even larger that night, as he stared in awe at the beautiful pixie. There were so many things out there that he didn't know about.

"All right, so why are you here?" Clef asked next.

Mouth clamping shut, the pixie looked away, pain and fear flashing through his expression. There were a number of things Clef guessed could have happened – maybe he got lost or maybe he was hiding from something; maybe he had been captured and had just gotten away, only to be captured again – but eventually the answer came. "I'm on vacation."

Clef didn't believe that for a second, but he didn't press. Instead, he asked "How did you get into my room?"

The silence this time was shorter. "I flew for a long time," he answered softly, and something in the timbre of his voice had Clef believing that this, at least, was true. "Until I reached the end of the forest. There was a long, black path with huge, metal dragons running along it."

It sounded more like a highway carrying shipping trucks, or perhaps a railroad and trains, but Clef wasn't sure what to believe anymore. "Are dragons common where you're from?"

The pixie looked back at him, scowling like Clef was the stupidest thing he had ever seen. "Dragons aren't real."

Says the pixie.

"They all died out a long time ago. Don't you know anything?"

"I guess not," Clef responded. "Then again, I'm not the one who got trapped in a cage."

The pixie glared hot and growled deep, then brought his leg back and kicked the door again, his hardest blow yet. Then he began yanking his leg like he was stuck, and Clef saw for the first time that the pixie's feet were _curled_. Not a lot, but the ends of his feet where there should have been toes came to a point, which curved up like a hook. They definitely weren't shoes, since the little thing was buck-ass naked, and they seemed to not be very flexible, like most toes weren't. The pixie's curled foot had gotten caught around the bar of the cage, and he winced in pain as he finally managed to jerk it free. His gray skin took on a pink hue, and Clef realized he was _blushing_. For all his brash language and rage, this feisty creature was actually really _cute_.

"Okay," Clef said to distract the pixie from his embarrassment. "So then what? Did the metal dragons catch you or something?"

"No, of course not," the pixie spat, and then his skin flushed even more pink, as if realizing that he couldn’t exactly claim to be too smart or fast or agile to avoid capture. "I was tired and they were fast, so I grabbed onto one and let it carry me away." He paused, and then added "For my vacation."

"Uh-huh," was Clef's only response. Vacation. Sure.

"I fell asleep and woke up many times. Sometimes I jumped to different dragons. I don't know how far I went, but ended up some place very cold."

"Yeah, it's winter." Then Clef saw the clue in what the pixie had said. "Wait, is it not winter where you're from?"

"I don't know what 'winter' means."

"Do the seasons change?"

"What's a 'season'?"

How to put it? "Does the weather change where you're from? Sometimes hot, sometimes cold?"

"No," the pixie answered, blinking in confusion. "It's always hot."

"I see..." He must have been from the rainforest way, way, _way_ down south, near two continents away. He had to have been traveling for weeks, maybe even months, to get this far. "So why are you here? Why did you choose me?"

"I didn't _choose_ you, stupid," the pixie said with a sneer. "The dragon I was-"

"They're called trucks."

"What?"

"Never mind," Clef sighed. "Go on."

"The dragon I was on had stopped moving, so I went to find another one. But it was so damn _cold_ that I... I passed out. Only for a second, though. When I woke up again, you were wandering around outside your mini dragon-"

"Car."

"-And it was warm in there, so I went in and hid with that guy." He pointed a slender finger behind Clef, towards the bookcase. When Clef turned to follow the pixie's gaze, he saw Gustav sitting where he had been left, motionless on his shelf. Clef had been partially right after all – dolls didn't come to life. The pixie had hid out in an unseen corner of the tote bag, and was probably the one to have eaten the spaghetti off the small plate. Some of the stranger events of the evening had started to make sense.

"I see," Clef said again, really understanding now. "So you've been hiding in the shadows this whole time." Then his face went hot, realizing what that probably meant. "So, uh, if you saw me doing anything at the computer... That, um, wasn't what it looked like. I was just... Uh... I had a mosquito bite that itched, and-"

"What are you talking about?"

"Nothing!" Maybe – hopefully, dear god, please – fairies didn't have a concept of jerking off. "Um, uh, so, how are you speaking English?"

"How are _you_ speaking pixie?" Which was a fair question. "So am I to be your prisoner now? Are you going to keep me here forever?"

"I..." Clef paused. He hadn't thought that far ahead yet. A real, live pixie was a wondrous and amazing thing. He wondered if he should tell someone about it; the scientific community would probably go insane, maybe even give him enough money to pay off his student loans if he turned it over.

But then the thing would get experimented on, poked, prodded, and sliced up, tortured in order to sate human curiosity. The rainforest would be ravaged even faster than it already was in search of more like him, perhaps decimating or enslaving their whole species, as humans have done to so many other living things, including each other.

Clef couldn't do that, couldn't be the cause of that. And he had no right to keep the fairy captive against his will, either. The last time he had tried to keep a living thing in this cage, stuck in this dark, window-less basement, it died, breaking Clef's heart along with it.

"No," he answered at last. "I won't keep you. You're free to go." Then he stood up and reached for the cage door, hesitating before going for the latch. It's not like the fairy had been able to hurt him, really, any more than a fly could really hurt an elephant. And he was calmer now anyway. It was very likely that the little guy would just leave once he got out, so Clef unlatched the door and slowly lifted it open.

The fairy zoomed out of the cage, zipping right by Clef and headed straight for the shelf where he had been found. Clef turned to see him pick up something that had previously gone unnoticed and lift it to his shoulder. When the fairy then raised a bow, Clef realized it was a tiny violin.

The music that began to play when the fairy drew back his bow was some of the most beautiful Clef had ever heard, yet he couldn't enjoy it at all, as the moment the golden notes hit his ears, his head began to pound. His skull felt like it was splitting open as the music tore away at his mind, pain ripping through his entire body. He fell to his knees as he covered his ears with his hands, screaming in agony.

"Stop!" he pleaded, crying out as it felt like his very cells were being torn apart. "Please! Stop!" A wet warmth oozed over the fingers of his left hand; the same warmth that trickled from his nose. Tears ran down his face as his brain felt like it was being stabbed by a thousand sharp needles. "Please, god, stop! I'll do anything!" He screamed in pain again, and then cried once more "Stop!"

The music stopped suddenly, and Clef collapsed to the floor. The pain continued to ring through him and he sobbed, then grit his teeth and panted, trying to pull himself together.

"You'll do anything?" the fairy's voice came from somewhere above him.

"Yes!" Clef screamed. His head throbbed, the worst headache of his life, and as he continued to breathe heavy, he climbed back to his knees and pulled his hands away from his head. Blood smeared over his left hand. Clef gasped when he saw it, and then jerked his gaze up to look at the thing standing over him on the broken footboard of the bed. It was _dangerous_.

"Let me stay here," the fairy said.

"Wha-?" Clef questioned through panting breaths. Then he wiped his hand under his nose; it came back bloody.

"I said, let me stay here, in this room."

Clef dropped down to the floor, sitting so he wouldn't lose his balance, though his equilibrium seemed to be intact. "Wh- Why would you want to stay in a basement if you're on vacation?" But when the fairy raised his bow again, Clef cowered. "Okay! Okay, you can stay here. Just, don't kill me." Or worse.

"Good," the fairy said. "Now listen up. You will _not_ put me in a cage ever again, got it?"

"Yes, sir," Clef agreed, not willing to take any chances.

"And you are not to tell _anyone_ that I am here. _No one_. Understood?" He pointed his bow at Clef, jabbing the air with it to punctuate his words. "If I find out you've told anyone about me, I'll kill you _and_ them, and everyone they know too."

"I won't say a word."

"And one more thing." Then the fairy lifted from his pedestal, fluttering wings carrying him towards Clef. He lifted the violin and thrust it at Clef's face, too close for Clef to actually see properly, and said "You do not ever, _ever_ touch this. It's _mine_. Got it?" The fear had returned to his eyes, lying deep under the anger but still shining clear. If Clef got a hold of that violin and crushed it, he would have nothing to worry about from the little monster, but those eyes made him not want to do that. There had to be a better way for the both of them to get through this.

"Okay," Clef answered. "I got it. Now, can I make a request of my own?"

The fairy glared at him so hot, Clef felt like he had been beamed with a laser.

"Never mind!" He was the hostage now; how dare he make requests?

"What is it?" the fairy asked, eyes narrowed with suspicion.

"Could you..." Clef started slowly, cautiously. "Might you, perhaps, perchance, maybe... Put some clothes on?"

"Clothes?"

Clef pulled at the collar of his pajama top to show that it wasn't just weird skin. "Cloth coverings for your body. Humans are uncomfortable if our bodies show."

For a long time, the fairy just stared at him hard, and Clef thought he would refuse. He wasn't going to fight about it, though; if the little thing wanted to expose himself, Clef wasn't going to risk another brain-melting over it. But eventually, the simple answer came. "I don't have any."

Clef asked him to wait. He did happen to have some very small clothing, as if it were fate that the fairy had ended up at his place, but before he went digging through the box of doll clothes, he needed to clean up the bloody reminder that someone tiny could still be deadly. As he stood in front of the bathroom mirror, wiping up the smear of blood from around his left ear, his grandmother shuffled in.

"Oh, Clef, you're home," she started. Then she looked up at him, and her brows rose in concern. "What happened? There's blood on your face."

"It's fine," he said. "I just fell and hit my face on my desk, is all."

"What?"

Clef sighed. Grandma didn't wear her hearing aid at night. Between that and the way Grandpa slept like a dead log, it was no wonder neither of them had heard his screams of agony; no wonder nobody had come to help him. In this case, though, he supposed it was okay. He wouldn't have wanted either of his grandparents to have gotten hurt for his sake. He would deal with the little monster on his own, like so many other things.

"I fell," Clef said again, louder this time. He pantomimed tripping and falling, and then smacked his hand against the bathroom counter. "And hit my face on my desk."

Grandma looked down at the counter.

"No, my _desk_. Downstairs." He pointed in the general direction of the basement, dedicating himself to the lie he had woven.

"Oh, okay. Well, if you're alright..."

"I'm fine."

"Then, I have to pee."

Clef almost laughed at that. "Hold on." He cleaned up the blood from his nose with the damp washcloth in his hand, checking to make sure he hadn't missed any spots, and then tossed the dirty cloth into the hamper. He called a 'good night' to his grandmother before heading back downstairs to face his tiny bully.

"Well?" the fairy said when Clef re-entered his room. "It's cold in here."

Clef went to the set of plastic bins that held his doll clothes. Liam's stuff would be out of the question – at seventy centimeters, he already towered over the other dolls – but some of the smaller guys' stuff might work with a little altering. Gustav and the others were around forty-five centimeters, but the slender fairy seemed to be near half that height, probably somewhere around twenty centimeters, if Clef were to take a guess. A shirt would be like a dress, but if he tied a ribbon or something around the waist it would look more like a tunic. And for pants... Well, pants could come later.

"Here, put this on," Clef said, tossing a little button-up shirt at the fairy. It was caught, analyzed, and then the gray eyes turned to him with that look that said Clef was an idiot.

"What am I supposed to do with this?"

Clef stared for a moment, and then took a breath. To be fair, he probably would have gotten the same reaction from a cat. "Hold your arms out, like this." He extended his arms out on either side of himself, showing the fairy what to do, and the pose was copied. Slowly, making no sudden movements that could get his head exploded, he slid one sleeve of the shirt along the fairy's arm, then held the other side of the shirt up. "Put your arm in here." The request was obeyed, the little creature surprisingly docile as Clef fastened up the tiny doll buttons.

The shirt hung to the fairy's knees, looking like a girl wearing her boyfriend's oversized shirt, and Clef found himself smiling at the sight. He loved dressing his dolls, giving them styles and fashion he could never pull off himself. This fairy was so beautiful, Clef got the feeling he could wrap him in a dress made out of a cheap sock and he would still look amazing. His smile deepened as he began to tie the sash – an obi from one of Hiro's kimono sets – around the fairy's trim waist, until his thoughts were interrupted by the small, rough voice.

"What are you grinning at, asshole?"

"Nothing," Clef answered, letting his smile drop.

"I can't move my wings. Get this thing off of me."

He hadn't thought about that. None of the doll clothes would accommodate wings. All of his guys wore nerdy business attire or punk outfits, nothing backless. Clef's first thought was to cut slits into the shirt to feed the wings through, but... "That shirt cost forty bucks."

"What are bucks?"

"It's slang for money."

"What's money?"

Clef huffed a sigh. The dolls were a high-end luxury item, and all their accessories were too. He spent more money on clothes for them than he did on clothes for himself; he would cringe at the thought of spending twenty-something on a shirt for himself, even with his Bullseye Mart discount, but would drop sixty easily on a doll outfit. It helped that they looked so much better in everything than he did. "Hold on a sec."

Heart heavy with regret and resignation, he dug through one of his stuff piles until he found a pair of scissors, then went back to where the fairy stood on his dresser and asked him to turn around. He felt along the back of the shirt for where the wings were.

"What are you doing?"

"Wait." He pulled the shirt's fabric a safe distance from the fairy's body, brought the scissors up, and clenched his eyes shut. Two snips later and Clef was able to fit both the large upper wing and smaller lower wing through the holes on each side. The wings were softer than he expected them to be, like thin tissue paper made of velvet, and though they seemed delicate, no sounds of pain or discomfort came. "How's that?" he asked when it was done. "Can you move okay?"

The wings fluttered, lifting the fairy several inches off the dresser before he landed again. "Yeah, it's fine," he said, putting his hands on his hips as he looked at himself in the dresser's mirror.

Clef smirked, glad he had done something right for once. "So are fairy wings super delicate? Like, can they brea-"

He didn't get a chance to finish before he got an eyeful of fairy dick and a kick right in the forehead. It didn't hurt, but it sure did take him by surprise. They were definitely going to have to figure out pants.

"I'm a _pixie_ , you asshole!" the thing shouted at him. "Get it straight!"

"Sorry!" Clef replied. "This is really new to me."

The _pixie_ kicked him once more for good measure before landing back on the dresser. He glared at Clef, face pulling into a tiny scowl, and then he turned back to the mirror. Clef watched him for a moment, watched his expression change in the mirror's reflection, moving from annoyed to worried, flitting to sad before resting on carefully neutral. "My name is Allegro," he said suddenly, quietly.

Clef's smile came back, soft. "Nice to meet you, Allegro. I'm Clef." He stuck out a hand to shake, only realizing how stupid that was when the pixie stared at it in confusion, a crease in his fine brow. "Sorry," Clef said as he withdrew his hand. "It's a human custom. When we meet someone new we take their hand and shake it, but... I guess that would be difficult in this case." He finished up with a small "Heh."

Allegro stared at him for a moment, then eventually looked down at his own tiny hand before thrusting it out towards Clef, copying the gesture. Clef smiled, giving a small laugh before extending his hand again. Allegro took hold of the tip of his index finger and shook it. It was cute, and Clef found himself grinning outright until he caught sight of his bedside clock in the mirror.

"Jesus, it's two o'clock in the morning," he said as he whirled around to verify he had read it right. "I need to get to bed or I'll die at work tomorrow."

"Work?" Allegro questioned.

"Yeah, my job." Though, if pixies roamed freely around the forest like wild animals, they may not have a concept of work in the same sense humans did. "I go to this place most days and help people, and they give me money. Then I trade the money for stuff, like doll clothes."

Allegro's brow creased. "Doll?"

"I don’t have time to explain every little thing to you," Clef replied as he moved over to his closet. He pulled out an old wine box that was occasionally used in photo sessions, versatile enough to use as either a bed or a table. Guess he wouldn't be using it anytime soon, now. "You can sleep in this," he said, layering a couple doll-sized blankets into the box.

"I hate the cold, you know," Allegro said flatly. It was a simple line, but Clef got the hint – lots of blankets, the warmest in the house, as fluffy as possible. None of the doll stuff was like that, so Clef headed upstairs to invade the linen closet and see what he could find.

There was a small, downy cushion that Clef was able to stuff inside the box, and then he added a bunch of pillow cases, picking out all the flannel ones from between his grandmother's beloved satin for better heat retention. It was the best he could do, given the circumstances, but it seemed like a lot, filling the wine box nicely, so he figured it would do.

"You smell weird," Allegro said when Clef made it back to the room, and for a second he was almost offended.

"Oh, it's mint," Clef replied when he realized what the fair- _pixie_ must have meant. "I brushed my teeth while I was upstairs." He didn't want to have to make another trip up.

"You did what?"

" _Tomorrow_ ," Clef said as he cleared the few things on a high shelf of the bookcase off to fit the makeshift bed. "I'll tell you all about everything in the human world tomorrow."

"Don't talk to me like I'm stupid."

"My apologies, your highness." Ignoring the fact that Allegro had been doing just that to Clef all night. "Your sleeping chamber awaits." He gestured to the wine box with a short bow.

Allegro flew from the dresser over to the bookcase, carrying his little violin along with him. He began to set the violin next to the box, but then suddenly turned and glared suspicious at Clef. Turning back, he instead carefully placed the violin and bow in the small bed, and then crawled in next to it, continuing to glare until Clef rolled his eyes and headed to his own bed.

Collapsing onto his bed, Clef felt the days exhaustion wash over him all over again. This New Year's Day had been _so_ long, he had been running on empty for hours now, and he couldn't wait for the sweet release of sleep to let him play dead to the world for a few hours. He reached for the lamp, throwing the room into darkness, and closed his eyes to await the prickles of sleep.

Instead, he got kicked in the face.

He had been right _there_ , just about to dive off the precipice into the deepest slumber of his life, when the small but incessant blows came. He scrambled for the lamp – fairies must have crazy night vision or something – and switched the light back on to see Allegro hovering before him with crossed arms.

"I'm cold," the little brat huffed.

"Then go to the bed I just made for you. It's full of blankets."

"It's not enough!"

"Well, I'm sorry," Clef replied. "My grandfather turns the heat down at night and there's nothing I can do about it." He didn't dare touch the sacred thermostat.

"My family is very powerful. They will track you down and kill you if you let me freeze to death."

Clef sat up, throwing the covers off of himself. "Well, do you want to sleep in here with me, then!?"

Allegro looked horrified. "No!" His gray skin dusted pink again. "You'll eat me while I'm sleeping or something."

"No, I won't," Clef muttered, but then he slipped out of the bed. He had an idea. "Wait here."

Then it was back up the stairs, exactly what he had gone out of his way to avoid. He stopped by the kitchen and filled the kettle with tap water, and then flicked the stove on to set the kettle to boil. While waiting for that, he went back to the linen closet and dropped to his hands and knees to dig around in the very back of the closet. Years and years and years ago he had found an old hot water bottle in there, unused for probably half a century, but his grandparents never got rid of anything. It had been forever since Clef had last seen it, but there it was, as unused as ever. It looked to still be in good shape, though, no cracks or holes or anywhere that might leak, so far as he could see. So he took it back to the kitchen and waited for the water to finish boiling, resting his elbow on the counter and propping his chin up on it as he stood by.

His eyes closed and he almost dozed off. He was supposed to be in bed by now; should have been deep asleep, resting for the upcoming day of work bullshit and the first band practice of the new year. Instead, he was playing servant to a fussy pixie.

The kettle began to whistle and Clef switched off the gas stove, filled the heavy water bottle, and then carried it downstairs. Allegro was tapping his curled foot when Clef returned, but he ignored it, instead simply dropping the water bottle onto the bed before fetching the wine box. He waited a beat, and as expected, Allegro zipped over to grab his violin, holding it to his chest protectively as he watched Clef go to work.

He had to remove the cushion to make it fit, then he covered the hot water bottle in several layers of pillow case to prevent Allegro getting burned and nestled it into the wine box. "How's that?" Clef asked as he gestured to the new and improved bed. "Hot enough?"

Allegro put a hand to the bed and his eyes lit up silently as the heat seeped into him. Then finally, he answered with a simple "Yes."


	3. Chapter 3

When Clef woke up, his first instinct was to try and convince himself that everything that had happened the day before was a dream. Not just the stuff with the fairy, _everything_ – getting lectured at work, getting lectured at home, getting off thinking of his _male_ friend. One cracked glance at the bookcase, however, informed him that the fairy part, at least, had actually happened. Unless he had made up the tiny bed in the strangest bout of sleepwalking ever.

After swatting at his alarm, Clef pulled himself out of bed and went to the set of shelves, standing on his toes to peer into the wine box. He found Allegro glaring back out at him, looking completely exhausted, tiny black bags coloring the gray skin under his eyes. He looked on the verge of death. "Sleep well?" Clef asked despite the obvious answer.

"How can I sleep when you might stuff me in a cage!?" Allegro snapped back. For having not gotten any sleep, he sure did have a lot of energy.

"I won't stuff you in a cage," Clef replied, and when Allegro just glared even _harder_ at him, he added "I promise." He would take the cage out of the room altogether if the fairy was going to keep being paranoid about it. "Do you want some breakfast?" he asked next. "What can you eat?"

"Normal stuff, "Allegro answered blankly.

"What's 'normal' for a fairy?"

Allegro zipped out of the bed faster than Clef could see, coming up to smack him in the forehead repeatedly. "Pixie!" he yelled, annoyance lacing his voice. "I'm a _pixie_! Do I look human-sized to you!? Huh!? Do I look like a bejeweled asshole!?" He delivered one final kick before saying, "I'm a _pixie_ ; get it right," and then he flew back several feet to glare at Clef, arms crossed over his chest.

Clef rubbed his abused forehead. The repeated attacks in the same spot actually managed to hurt. "Sorry," he muttered, hoping a mark hadn't been left. "What's normal food for a pixie?"

" _Normal_ ," Allegro said. "Like fruit from trees, or fruit from the ground, or fruit from smaller trees. And whatever I ate last night is okay too."

"So fruits, veggies, and spaghetti," Clef confirmed as he went over to one of his boxes of doll props. He was sure he had some toy dishware that he had used for a picnic photoshoot last year, and sure enough, the miniature plates and cups were right where he had left them. He grabbed a tiny drinking glass and headed up the stairs to forage for breakfast.

He put on coffee for himself and then filled the little glass with water for Allegro. He didn't want to overwhelm the pixie's stomach or make him sick, so he figured it would be best to keep food simple and natural. And it would be good for Clef as well – like most people in this country, he admittedly didn't get enough fruits and vegetables in his diet.

Grabbing a plate from the kitchen cupboard, Clef began slicing up a banana from the fruit basket on the counter, piling the slices on one side of the plate before doing the same to an apple. He peeled an orange as well, but beyond that couldn’t think of anything else to add. He didn't know any quick and easy ways to add veggies to the mix, and really wasn't in the mood to chop a bunch of stuff up to make a salad when he hadn't even had his coffee yet. It was exactly _why_ he didn't get his daily recommended amount of vegetables. So he made toast instead, sure Allegro would like the strawberry and cassis jam he spread on top.

He decided to try some yogurt as well; perhaps the pixie's tiny tummy would enjoy the bio-whatever those commercials claimed yogurt had. When he turned back to his plate from the fridge, he found his grandmother's all-black – always all-black, like Grandma was a witch or something – cat, Tom, standing on the counter, lapping water from the little glass Clef had filled for Allegro despite having his own dish of water right over there. "Hey, get your own," Clef called out.

Tom just looked at him, licking his lips and slowly blinking his yellow eyes.

Clef picked the cat up, scratching his soft head and saying, "You are too fat, cat. You need to go on a diet," like he was one to talk. Then he set Tom down on the floor, dumped the remaining water from the little glass, and gave it a brief wash to cleanse it of cat germs – just in case – before re-filling it. Once his own steaming cup of coffee was fixed, he balanced everything in his deft hands and descended back into his basement.

In his room, Clef found Allegro sitting on the shelf where his makeshift bed was, twisted at the torso while pulling his wing as forward as possible, licking the delicate appendage like a cat grooming itself. The pixie's little tongue took long swipes at the wing, careful and thorough, and Clef found himself smiling at the strange and adorable behavior.

"What are you doing?" he asked as he pushed his computer keyboard out of the way and set the plate and drinks on his desk.

Letting go of the wing and twisting back around, Allegro answered, "Cleaning," like it was the most obvious answer in the world, which, to be fair, it kind of was. "If they get too dirty then I can't fly." Then he launched from his perch, fluttering over to the desk and casually sitting next to the plate, as if they were pals sharing a meal and he hadn't attempted to explode Clef's brain just a few hours ago.

Allegro picked up a slice of banana from the plate, sniffed it, and then bit into it, barely making a dent in the slice with his tiny bite. It was too cute, the way he needed to hold on to the slice with both of his little hands, and Clef couldn’t help the curl that pulled up his lips as he watched the pixie eat.

"I have to go to work today," Clef said as he dropped into his chair and grabbed a piece of toast. "And then afterwards I'm meeting with my band for practice."

"What's a band?"

Clef swallowed his toast and then answered, "It's a group of people who get together and play music together and sing and stuff." He had a feeling he would be doing a lot of explaining in the coming future. "Haven't you ever gathered with your friends and played your violin with them?"

Allegro's eyes turned away and his chewing slowed. Eventually, he swallowed heavy, and then quietly said, "I don't have any friends."

It made Clef's heart thud sad, even as it bolstered the feeling that Allegro wasn't actually on vacation. "Oh..." he replied lamely. "Sorry..." Then he grabbed the yogurt cup, tearing off the lid and licking it clean before he dropped it into the trash can beside his desk. They had fallen silent, awkward, as Clef stirred the berry-flavored yogurt, and then after a moment's thought, he gathered some up on his spoon and held it out to Allegro.

"What's that?" the pixie asked, suspicious.

"It's called 'yogurt'," Clef answered. "It's food. Try some."

Allegro sniffed at it, his speck of a nose twitching as he leaned in towards the spoon, and then his tongue came out and he licked a dollop of the yogurt and swallowed.

"Well?" Clef smiled. "What do you think?"

Allegro nodded. "It's good."

He wasn't sure if he had any doll-size spoons, but before Clef could even get up to check, Allegro had dumped his whole hand into the yogurt cup, pulling out a glob and feeding himself. Clef just laughed, using his spoon to take his own share in between Allegro's helpings.

They ate together in a strange, companionable silence, with Allegro eating his fill and Clef eating the rest, which was quite a bit. Seemed the pixie's small stomach filled up quickly, while on the other hand, Clef was sure he was going to have to pick a burger or something up on the way to work. A couple pieces of fruit were _not_ going to hold him over until his lunch break.

"So as I said before," Clef said after there was nothing left to put in his mouth, getting back to the almost forgotten subject. "I have work and then band practice, so I won't be home until late. You can stay here, if you want, but my family will be home all day, so if you want to stay hidden you won't be able to leave. Or I can get you outside, if you'd prefer, but you won't be able to come back inside until I'm home."

Allegro was silent for a mere moment before asking, "Is it still cold outside?"

"It will continue to be winter for quite some time, yes."

"I'm not going out in the cold."

"Inside it is, then," Clef said. "I'll leave some food for you so you don't starve, but yeah, you'll be stuck in here for a while. Sorry..."

Allegro just shrugged in response, but his eyes pulled to the side, resigned and melancholic. Clef almost wished there were more he could do for him, but then, Allegro was the one who forcefully demanded he get to stay here.

And then, suddenly, Allegro turned back to him, asking, "Do those guys get to leave?" as he tilted his head towards the bookcase.

"The dolls?" Clef questioned, smile breaking over his face. "Nah, they don't have anywhere to go."

"Will they eat?"

Clef laughed, which only made Allegro's expression fall into a glare, but he couldn't help it. The sincerity of the questions gave such a sense of innocence to the pixie. "No," Clef answered once his giggles had died down. "They're not alive. They won't eat or talk or move or anything."

"But..." Allegro looked confused, and angry about being confused. "They're little humans."

Clef chuckled again. "They look like humans, but they're fake. They're just for fun."

"Why?"

That gave Clef pause, but then he sincerely answered, "I just like looking at them and putting clothes on them and taking pictures of them." It was kind of nice to get questions about his hobby not full of malice or snobbery, for once.

Allegro just hummed and stared at the dolls, and Clef stood, needing to get ready for work. He dug for a fresh set of red and khaki out of his dresser. Just as he was about to strip off his pajama shirt, however, he was overcome with a fit of nerves. He couldn't bring himself to change in front of Allegro's curious eyes, show his chubby body to the lithe and beautiful pixie. How embarrassing. So he tucked his work clothes under his arm and picked up the dirty dishes. "I'll be right back," he said. "Stay here."

Another trip back up the stairs, Clef dropped his clothes on a chair at the kitchen table, where his grandmother sat with a cup of tea and some toast. "Do you have to work today?" she asked as he headed toward the sink to rinse off his dishes and file them into the dishwasher.

"Yeah," Clef replied. "Then band practice after."

"Darlene said she's having a hell of a time finding a babysitter for the kids, but she can't skip out on work, so they'll be staying here for a few days," she said, as if Clef wanted to think about any of those fucking people; as if yesterday didn't even happen.

"Oh, goodie," he responded, deadpan.

"We'll have to go grocery shopping," she went on. "You want anything?"

"No," Clef answered with a sigh. His grandparents let him live here for free and eat their food without complaint, so he never felt right requesting things, even though he knew if he did, they would buy it for him without question. He had a job, and though it didn't pay much, he preferred to buy anything he really wanted himself. "I'm good."

He changed his clothes in the bathroom, then gathered some more fruit and cracked open some walnuts, plus a clean glass of water, and carried it all down to leave in his room while he was out. Once his door was closed and his burdens set down, he looked around the room, and at first he didn't see Allegro anywhere. The pixie wasn't on the desk, where he had been when Clef left him, nor was he on his claimed shelf. It took some searching around all the clutter, but he finally spotted Allegro laying on top of a small dresser where Clef kept the dolls' shoes and accessories, curled up and fast asleep. Clef realized the narrow dresser was directly under the heat vent, and was likely the warmest spot in the room.

An unseen smile broke across his face. "Honestly, you're more like a cat than a mythological creature." Then he carefully picked the pixie up, amazed by his delicate, light weight, and carried him to the wine box, placing him down in the soft bed before moving the whole thing over to the little dresser, and then he set the box under the vent. He pulled the covers over Allegro's small body, making sure not to touch the violin that rested by his head, and then stepped back. And if the softest of tugs pulled at his heart, Clef would just tell himself it was because he was still so tired from yesterday.

He kept the light on when he left for work, so that Allegro wouldn't wake up alone in the dark, but he locked the door, keeping everything precious inside safe.

Work was mostly uneventful. It was busy, the New Year holiday and accompanying sales not quite over yet, but somehow the shift managed to drag on. All the usual bullshit was flung at him, he may as well have changed his name to Cliff, and he didn't even have his work buddies to ease the deep pain of consumer stupidity. Mikey wouldn't be in until later, and Katie had called in sick, having actually injured her back with her fooling around the day before.

Clef spent the entire time worrying about Allegro. He knew in his head the pixie could take care of himself. He must have been quite the resilient little guy, coming as far as he had all by himself, but Clef still couldn't help imagining up all kinds of awful things that could happen to him. He could get sick on the inorganic fruit or treated tap water, a pile of stuff could fall on him and crush him, the house could catch fire and he could be trapped in the room, burning to death while the flames swallowed his screams. Clef told himself it was ridiculous, but his mind seemed to enjoy torturing him anyway.

On the other hand, when he remembered how Allegro had cleaned his wings, how his little hands held on to a slice of apple as he bit into it, even how he had stared at Clef with dark bags under sleepy eyes, Clef couldn't help but smile.

"You look like you've fallen in love."

Clef jumped at the voice, startled. He had been on his last break, munching on some Cheezy-Chips and staring at the TV while not really seeing it. He hadn't even heard anyone come into the break room, so out of it.

Before Clef had a chance to answer, Mikey put a hand to his chest and gasped. "Is it with me!?"

"No!" Clef belted out with a laugh. "I'm not in love with anyone," he added, and then an image of Lan popped into his mind for reasons he couldn't explain. He wasn't in love with Lan, though. Lan was his _friend_ ; that was all. Just because _one time_ he imagined-

His cock twitched and he shut off his brain. He was at work; he couldn't sort this out now – or _ever_ – and it was all moot anyway. He had never been attracted to a guy before, including Lan, in all his twenty-two years of life, so he was pretty sure he would know if he was gay or not. The answer was 'not'.

"Suit yourself," Mikey said with a playful smile. "Is Katie here?"

"Nah, she's dead."

"Aw, man~ Does that mean I have to close by myself?"

"'Fraid so," Clef answered. "Another hour and I am out of this shithole."

"Lucky~" Mikey whined. Then he turned and began to reluctantly plod towards the stairs to the main floor.

"Mikey," Clef called out without thinking, and when the teen turned back to him with unusually serious and curious eyes, Clef asked "How did you know...?"

Mikey blinked stormy blue eyes at him. "Know what?"

Clef felt his face warm. Mikey was so out and proud and totally okay with himself even at such a young age, Clef had to wonder if he had ever had to fight with himself. On the other hand, though, Mikey's family was super supportive of him and everything he did; not accepting himself was likely a foreign concept to the kid. "How did you know that you were...?" He didn't want to say it out loud.

He didn't have to. Mikey's eyes widened and he gripped the break room's doorframe dramatically as if needing to hold himself up. "Are you having an awakening!?"

"No!" He was just curious, was all.

"We can talk about it over dinner sometime, if you'd like." He gave a wink.

Clef threw a Cheezy-Chip at him. "Get to work."

He had just been curious, that was all. He said that to himself once again as he lifted his poor, patient bass from the trunk of his car, parked on the street in front of Lan's condo. Cade and Gaku were already there, it seemed, their cars taking up the driveway. They both had regular nine-to-five jobs – Cade doing a paid internship at a local branch of a music production company, while Gaku processed medical files at his father's hospital – so they could all start practice at six each night. Clef was the only one who sometimes worked until five, sometimes seven, sometimes midnight. His days off were random, his retail schedule annoyingly inconsistent, so there were days where he was left with nothing to do – blissful times indeed – and days where he missed practice altogether. The others said they didn't mind, but that hurt on some level too, the implication that they could practice just fine without him.

Lan answered the door with a bright smile, and Clef's heart jumped a beat. He cursed inwardly; yesterday had really messed him up.

They went to the music room, Clef following behind Lan and trying not to stare at the nape of his neck. The others were waiting, dicking around on their instruments, keeping their hands warm. They would have already been practicing for an hour now without him. Gaku smiled when Clef came in the room, _probably_ looking his way, but it was impossible to tell with the way his overgrown bangs covered his eyes. He tapped away at his drums lightly, like a music-box version of one of their songs, and then he spun one of his sticks around, going still and only letting out a tiny gasp when he then dropped it.

Cade, on the other hand, threw a wave and called out "Happy New Year!"

"Happy New Year to you," Clef returned with a smile as he laid his guitar case down on the carpeted floor and flipped the latches open. "Did you go anywhere?"

"Yeah, my parents dragged me to Himbeergeist to watch some symphony friends of theirs perform." Cade's parents were musicians in the national orchestra, his father – a legit descendant of Richard Wagner – playing the tuba and other brass instruments, while his mother played the piccolo. Both of theirs talent had been passed on to Cade, yet they loathed the fact that he chose to play the electric guitar in a rock band. "They said I needed some culture."

"And they would be right," Clef teased.

"Hur hur," Cade mocked, but then he smiled. "How about you? I know your broke ass probably didn't travel, but did you do anything exciting at all?"

Clef wasn't sure if getting smacked around by a pixie would count as 'exciting'. "Nah, I had to work the whole holiday. Christmas was a beast." He slipped the strap of his guitar over his shoulder and immediately began sliding his fingers over the thick strings. Normally he would have waited – after being in his trunk all day, the bass was freezing, and it was better to let it warm up slowly so that the finish didn't get damaged – but he just couldn't help himself. They hadn't all played together for weeks because of the holiday season, and he was itching to go all out and _jam_.

He flexed his fingers, checked his tuning, and then dove into a short solo, plucking out rapid notes, letting the music overtake him. His eyes closed as his hand slid up and down the guitar's neck, fingers moving more easily as he warmed up. The vibrations from the instrument traveled through him, hypnotizing him, and he felt freer than he had in weeks. And he hadn't even plugged in the amp yet.

He finished his little warm up with a pull to the string, giving the ending note a vibrato. Then he opened his eyes, feeling content until he found his bandmates staring at him. His face warmed.

The side of Cade's mouth pulled into an amused smirk. "Well, look at you, all fired up."

Clef puffed a laugh, smiling. "I'm antsy. I wanna _rock_."

Lan tossed the amp cable at him, deftly caught, then said, "Then let's do it."

They launched into ' _Following Shadows_ ', their most perfected song and go-to warm up. The beat was hard, fast, got Clef's heart pumping and blood flowing. His body moved, pulsing to the rhythm his fingers pulled from his instrument, and he felt like he could do this forever, playing with these guys.

He glanced at Cade, who didn't even seem to notice his black-rimmed glasses were sliding down his nose. His fingers flew up and down the neck of his pitch-black guitar, faster than anyone else Clef had ever seen outside of the classic legends, an unrecognized genius. Cade's torso rocked up and down, head bobbing to the music, close to head banging, yet he still never missed a note.

Gaku's arms flew around himself, pounding his drums as if to call down thunder. The cymbals crashed beneath his sticks as the bass drum thudded with every tap of his foot. A smile lit up his face and it was contagious, bringing a matching grin to Clef's face. This is what their music meant to them, happiness, joy, pure bliss.

Then they stopped, the room going almost quiet, and Clef plucked out a few notes to give depth to the bridge of the song while Lan's voice crooned out the temporarily mellow part of the song. Clef loved Lan's voice, with its in-between pitch that was hard to find elsewhere and a coarse edge to it that matched their rough style perfectly. That voice seemed to shoot through Clef, pulsing straight to his groin, causing his hand to slip. But the song played on, Cade and Gaku picking up their cues perfectly for the music to explode back into its frantic and wild beat.

When it ended, when their final notes rang out and then pulled off, they all looked around at each other, faces bright and warm. Then Cade said, "You dropped a note."

"Oops," Clef replied. It wasn't like mistakes never happened during practice; they were all used to slipping up, getting off track, or accidentally chucking drumsticks across the room from time to time.

"That was much better," Lan said quietly, staring at the wall. It seemed like he was talking to himself, but then he looked over his shoulder to meet Clef's gaze. "It just doesn't sound right without you."

Clef's heart _squeezed_ in a way he couldn't explain or deny.

They played for hours, sometimes just messing around, but absolutely working out some of the kinks in their newer songs, debating changing the arrangement on some of their older songs. They took it seriously, but didn't lost sight of the fact that the whole point of putting a band together in the first place was to have fun.

Clef felt hyper aware of Lan the entire time.

It was Cade's bottomless pit of a stomach growling that finally called the practice off. Cade was the type that could and _would_ eat until he puked and then eat some more – though he somehow remained skinny to the point of scrawny – so it was usually, surprisingly, Cade who began calling for food before Clef ever did. "Let's go to Granny Smith's and get some burgers," Cade said with a hand resting on his flat stomach to emphasize his hunger.

They often went out after practice and it was always a lot of fun. Clef wanted to go, wanted to spend a little more time with the guys, a little more time with Lan, but he had started to become increasingly worried about Allegro. The pixie had been trapped alone in his room for close to twelve hours now, and Clef envisioned going home and finding him dead, just like he had with his bird, years ago.

"I- I can't," Clef replied. "I have some stuff to do at home."

"Oh, a'ight," Cade said, then looked to the others.

Gaku tossed his drumsticks towards his open backpack lying in the corner, one of them actually making it into the bag. He stood, yawned, and then simply said "Home" as he began to gather his things up properly.

When Cade looked to Lan, he got a smile of remorse. "Fine, all right, yeah." He pushed his glasses up. "I'll just go home at ten o'clock like a lame person."

Clef only chuckled, but in reality, deep down inside, he was relieved. It would have felt lonely, knowing they were all going out without him, even if it were his own choice not to go. He already felt like something of an outcast amongst them, being a year younger, not coming from a relatively well-off family like they were, being the only fat, frumpy loser. Maybe it was stupid, maybe it was wrong, but he didn't want to be left out, even if he himself was the one to decline.

As they began to ascend towards the door, Lan took Clef's arm to stop him, pulling him back several paces into the music room. Clef's heart sped up, beating out of control no matter how much he told it to just stop already.

"Do you have to work tomorrow?" Lan asked.

"No..." came the slow reply.

"Would you mind stopping by and helping me with something?"

Clef's eyes widened, having no idea what he could possibly do that would be of any help to Lan. But he agreed, pushing out a "Sure, no problem." There would be absolutely no wrestling this time.

Lan gave a sweet smile. "Thanks."

Clef was still thinking of that smile and what the fuck was wrong with him when he got home, heading in the side door to overexcited screams. Danny and Donnie were in the living room, playing a video game on the large screen TV, yelling at each other and making sound effects as if the game didn't have any of its own. Danny stopped screaming long enough to call out, "Hey, Clef," like they were pals or something.

"Yo," Clef replied as he passed by, entering the kitchen where his grandfather sat with a bagel and a book. "Hey, pops," he said, all while trying to get to his room as painlessly as possible.

"You left your light on," Grandpa said before Clef had gone too far, stopping him in his tracks.

"Did I? Sorry about that," Clef replied without looking at his grandfather.

"You shouldn't keep your door locked, you know. I could have gone in and turned it off myself."

Sure, that would have gone over well. "I have to lock it or the kids will go in there and go through my stuff." He finally turned to look at his grandfather as he added "You _know_ they would."

"Who cares if they play with your dolls?" Grandpa said, not denying that that was exactly what would happen if he left his room unlocked. Those kids had no sense of keeping their hands to themselves and no consideration for others, and his 'baby rabies' afflicted family sure wasn't making any attempt to teach them.

"Those dolls aren't cheap," Clef pointed out. "And it's not even about that. It's the principle of the matter. That's my room and my stuff and they don't need to be touching it."

"Well, it's my house!" Grandpa grumped, and Clef didn't respond to that. Was he really implying Clef should just let the kids walk all over him and do whatever they wanted? That Clef really had no right to privacy because he was just a freeloader? While it was all technically true, it kind of hurt. And so Clef remained silent, about to walk away when his grandfather added "You left your radio on too."

"I don't even own a radio."

"I heard music from your room. Some kind of violin music."

Oh. "A-Ah..." Clef stuttered. "I must have forgotten to turn my alarm off."

"You're wasting electricity."

"It was an accident. I'm sorry. I'll be more careful next time."

As a kid, Clef would spend what seemed like hours in the bathtub, flopping around and playing games until the water went cold, and then he would drain the cold water and refill it with hot, and he was never berated for being wasteful then. Now he got a lecture if he breathed too many times. He couldn't remember at what age he went from perfect angel child to enemy of the family, but it had been quite sudden.

"It's not free, you know."

"I'll pay you for my electricity usage."

Grandpa waved a hand dismissively, snorting. "I don't want your money." It was the same as always, every time Clef offered to pay them something at all for letting him stay there.

"Sorry," Clef muttered again, then without waiting for more lecture, he slinked down the stairs to his room and unlocked the door.

As soon as the flimsy, plastic barrier was cracked open, Allegro sped out and kicked Clef in the face, startling him into saying "Ow." At least the pixie wasn't dead.

"I'm starving, you asshole!" Allegro immediately launched into a rant as Clef pushed his way into the room. "You didn't leave me nearly enough food! And there's nowhere to shit in here! I had to relieve myself in that blue box!" He hovered over the garbage can, pointing at it, at where some tissue had carefully been laid over where Allegro had presumably used it as a toilet. Honestly, Clef was a little bit shocked that pixies had to relieve themselves at all – surprised the food didn't just magically disappear from their innards. Perhaps Allegro was less magical, mythical being and more natural living thing, albeit previously undocumented. And natural living things shit. "It was embarrassing! Where are your trees!?"

"I'm sorry," Clef said yet again. "I thought I had left you enough food, since you didn't eat so much at breakfast. And I can't have trees in here because there's no sunlight. They would just die." Like birds did. "I'll try to figure something out."

"You had better," Allegro muttered, but the anger in him seemed to be cooling off as he studied Clef.

Clef returned to the kitchen for food, going for more fruit and actually taking the time to cut up a carrot to get some vegetables in, including a little cup of ranch dressing to dip the slices in. Then he retrieved a can of microwave pasta from the pantry, fixing it up for them to share. And while he worked, he considered what he could do for Allegro.

That the pixie still seemed set on staying here, despite knowing he was going to be locked in a room for hours on end, was honestly really suspicious. The supposed vacation was clearly a lie; there had to be some other reason Allegro was determined to remain hidden underground, though Clef didn't dare ask him about it outright.

Either way, providing Allegro didn't use his violin on him again, Clef saw no reason not to help the pixie out.

They ate the simple dinner, and Allegro seemed to love the canned pasta, ignoring the apple slices and carrot in favor of scarfing down macaroni. He got through two whole noodles before he sat back, sighing like he was full.

Clef smiled and handed Allegro a tissue, showing him what to do with it by wiping his own face and fingers with a tissue of his own. "I'll get a small Tupperware bowl for you to use to relieve yourself," he said.

"What's Tupperware?"

"It's a type of plastic box with a lid. You can use it during the day, and I'll clean it out when I get home." It would be like having a pet. "And I'll leave more food for you as well. That should get easier as we find out what human foods you can eat."

It was silent a bit as Clef waited to see what Allegro thought about it, but then the pixie asked, "What's plastic?"

Clef chuckled. "Plastic," he said as he tapped the bowl their pasta had been in. Then he tapped the garbage can with his foot. "Plastic. It's a human-made material. The dolls are made of plastic too, though it's a softer, more fragile type."

Allegro just nodded like he understood, then stuck his hand in the ranch dressing to lick off his fingers.

"My grandfather got on my case about leaving the light on, so we may have to figure something out about that too, but I don't want you stuck in the dark all day. And... maybe you shouldn't play your violin when I'm not here."

Allegro frowned, brows drawing into a scowl. "I got bored. What else am I supposed to do in here all day?"

"I don't know," Clef answered honestly. Perhaps they could find a nice, quiet hobby for him.

A quiet beat passed, then another, and then Allegro said, "Don't lock the door."

"What do you mean?" Clef asked, convinced there must be deeper meaning in the demand.

"I mean don't lock the door, stupid," Allegro replied. "If I can get out of here, I can get food for myself and explore this place and shit in a tree, like a normal person."

He was going to flip when he found out what toilets were. "My family is here all day, every day. If you leave this room, there's a very good chance they'll see you, and my grandma is a horrible gossip, so she'll doubtlessly tell everyone all about you." Allegro's frown pulled down further, but Clef just ignored it as he added, "Besides, I can't leave my room unlocked while my nieces and nephews are on winter vacation, or else they'll be in here all the time, going through my stuff."

Allegro glared, but didn't say anything. Those were the facts and there was nothing he could do to change them. It wasn't like he could just politely ask the kids not to invade his personal space; the little fucks were far too inconsiderate for that to work. So the room would continue to be locked, whether Allegro liked it or not.

They regarded each other for a while, and then finally Allegro 'tsk'ed and looked away. Clef didn't respond, just took up the dirty dishes to deliver to the kitchen.

When he came back to the room, standing in the doorway for a moment, Clef then asked, "Do you want to wash up?"

Allegro blinked at him, previous frustration now replaced with curiosity. "Wash what?"

"Wash your-" He gestured to himself, hands waving up and down in front of himself. "Your body. Do pixies take baths? How do you clean yourself?"

Allegro stuck his tongue out.

"That sounds exhausting." Then he smiled. "Come on, I'll show you how to bathe like a human."

He carried Allegro to the bathroom, hiding the pixie between layers of flannel in the bundle of his pajamas. He almost laughed out loud when he glanced down at the carefully-held bundle to see a tiny pair of gray eyes peeking out, staring wide as they moved through the house.

As soon as the bathroom door was locked, the pixie was released, and he immediately began flitting about, looking at and inspecting everything while Clef set his clothes down on the lid of the closed hamper. And when Allegro picked up and then subsequently dropped Grandma's baby-powder puff, filling the air with white dust that made Allegro sneeze, Clef really did laugh, though he cut it short by clamping a hand over his mouth. The last thing he needed was for his family to rag on him about laughing at himself in the bathroom.

"Humans use water to clean themselves," Clef said as he moved to the sink, and when Allegro landed nearby to watch, Clef turned the knob to start the faucet.

Allegro's eyes went wide. "You can control water."

"Kind of," Clef replied with a laugh. "It's not magic, though. It's plumbing." He adjusted the temperature until the water ran slightly hotter than warm, and then wedged the stopper into the drain.

"Pixies go into rivers or ponds if we're very dirty," Allegro said as he sat on the sink's ledge, letting his feet dangle into the filling basin. "Sometimes just for fun." He kicked his curled feet to splash some water around.

The imagery made Clef think of birds playing in a birdbath, and it deepened his smile as he turned the water off before the sink overflowed. "Take your clothes off before getting in," Clef instructed. "So they don't get wet." He didn't want to have to cut up another doll shirt.

Allegro huffed, even as he began to tug the sash loose. "On, off, on, off. Humans need to make up their minds." As soon as he had stripped, though, he dove into the water. He seemed to enjoy it, surfacing, shaking off, then going under again several times. When he came up for good, he held on to the rim of the sink and looked up at Clef, and Clef smiled. Allegro's long hair was plastered to his head, and Clef could see the gray tips of pointed ears sticking out from between soaked locks. "It's warm," Allegro said, and though he didn't smile – Clef wondered if the pixie even could – his gray eyes were shining as if happy.

Clef couldn't help a chuckle at the cute little thing as he grabbed a cotton swab from the box, dipped it in the water, then pumped a single drop of hand soap onto the tip. He held it out to Allegro, saying a simple "Here."

Allegro stared at the cotton swab. "What's that for?"

"For cleaning," Clef answered. Then he slowly moved it towards Allegro's wing, gently moving the cotton over the small bit of wing that wasn't submerged in water.

Allegro watched over his shoulder for a bit, brows drawing together in concentration, and then he pulled himself out of the sink and sat on the edge again. Clef handed the cotton swab over, pointedly _not_ looking at the pixie's little dick as he watched Allegro figure out how to use the swab to wash himself. Running the cotton tip over his wings, leaving a trail of lathered soap in its wake, Allegro scrubbed himself, getting into the spots he likely couldn't reach before. He ran the swab repeatedly along the crease where his wings sprouted from his back, eyes closing, looking pleased as if finally scratching a long-neglected itch. Clef was almost shocked he didn't start purring.

"This is much easier than doing it myself," Allegro commented as he began to rub the cotton swab along his neck and under his chin, leaning into it like a cat.

Clef smiled. "I'm glad you like it."

"I didn't say I liked it," Allegro replied as he rubbed his face against the swab, clearly liking it. Then he moved the swab down, running it over his narrow chest before continuing towards his groin, and Clef quickly turned around.

He re-arranged how his pajamas lay on the hamper, made sure his towel was laid on top for easy access, pulled a washcloth from the rack up above. Anything to keep him from staring too hard at the nude pixie. Only when he heard the water in the sink splash did he turn back around.

With the suds floating away from him, Allegro laid back against the side of the sink, seeming to relax into the warm water for a soak. He gave a little sigh, and then his eyes turned to Clef. "Are you just going to watch me?"

Clef felt his face warm. Watching the little pixie _had_ been quite interesting, but... "Actually, I was going to bathe too."

"In here?"

"No!" Clef replied, and then he let out a laugh. He pulled back the shower curtain, revealing the bathtub. "In here."

"Oh." Allegro's eyes drew away, skin flushing that strange shade of grayish-pink.

"It's just a little awkward for me when there's someone else in the room."

"Because humans are uncomfortable if your bodies show?" Allegro confirmed, repeating back Clef's words from the night before. And when Clef nodded in affirmation, Allegro said "Pixies don't care about being uncovered."

"I know," Clef answered. Allegro likely wouldn't have given two shits if he stripped down right then. "But it's still awkward."

Allegro stared at him a moment, and then he slid himself along the side of the sink until his back faced Clef. "I won't look. I promise."

Clef knew he was being silly about it, and he couldn't even say why it mattered. Allegro wasn't human – undressing in front of him shouldn't have been any more awkward than undressing in front of a small animal. And they were both guys besides; it wasn't like Clef had never changed in front of other men in locker rooms before, though the last time he had done so was in high school, when he was about thirty pounds lighter.

Maybe that was why. Maybe he was just out of practice being nude around other people. Maybe he had grown up to be overly self-conscious. Still, he turned his back to Allegro's turned back and undressed as quickly as possible before diving behind the shower curtain. And after he was scrubbed fresh and clean, he reached out blindly for his towel, drying off in the tub, protected from eyes that didn't even care by the thin sheet of plastic.

He dressed behind the shower curtain as well, which became a huge test of his patience, given that the steam clouding the tub kept his body damp, making his clothes stick to his skin.

Allegro was watching him as he emerged from the shower, and then wordlessly climbed out of the sink as if understanding that bath time was over. He began to shake like a wet dog, and Clef found himself smiling as he reached for a dry washcloth and handed it to the pixie. When questioning gray eyes looked up at him, Clef said "You can dry yourself with it, like this." Then he pressed his own towel to his face, patting at the still-damp skin.

After curiously taking the washcloth, Allegro tentatively pressed it to his own face, and then, seeming to catch on to the concept of absorption, started patting himself down with it, watching with interest as the water droplets disappeared from his skin. He was a clever little thing, moving on to dress himself without prompting; the only help needed was getting his wings slotted through the slits cut into the shirt. When the sash was tied comfortably around his waist, he then looked up expectantly at Clef.

"Ready?" Clef asked with a smile as he held up his folded pants. Allegro nodded and floated up to land of the cloth, curling up and flattening his wings, and Clef draped his red polo shirt carefully over him.

Tom followed him into his room so nonchalant it was like the cat belonged there. Clef shooed him away with his foot before pulling the door shut, and then he pulled the shirt off of Allegro, setting the pixie free.

"I don't have work tomorrow," Clef said as he sniffed his work shirt, decided it was probably okay for another wear or three, and set it on the bed to be put away later. "But I do have to go to a friend's place to help him with something, so you'll be left alone again for a little while."

Something in Allegro's eyes darkened, but then quickly turned into a scowl. "So what am I going to do? Lay here in the dark like a prisoner?"

"I don't know," Clef answered, worried about that himself. "I'll bring some books for you or something." When Allegro frowned more deeply, Clef tacked on another "Sorry."

Allegro huffed and looked away, and then muttered, "I'm hungry. Get me food," to which Clef sighed a bit of relief.

That, at least, he could do.


	4. Chapter 4

When Clef woke up the following morning, he again immediately padded over to the bookcase and stood up on his toes to peer into the wine box. He almost expected to see another sleep-deprived Allegro glaring out at him, hissing that Clef had better not be thinking of putting him in a cage. Instead, he found the pixie sleeping quietly, a crease to his brow and one hand fingertip-touching his violin.

Clef went upstairs for his morning ritual of bathrooming, teeth-brushing, and coffee-making, but he wanted to hold off on breakfast until Allegro was awake so that they could eat together. He didn't want to have to make two meals, no matter how small one would be.

He had a text from Lan when he sat down at his desk with the hot coffee, saying he could come over whenever, but to send a message before leaving, and be sure to bring his bass. Clef replied with an e-sticker of the texting app's mascot character saluting, then caught up on the doll group's chat while the app was open, sipping his coffee as he thumbed the screen of his phone. Nothing really exciting had gone down, though there was some brief discussion about when the next meetup would be, now that the hustle and bustle of the holidays was over. Clef typed in that whenever the next meetup was, he would be sure to be there, though realistically that depended on work and band practice.

He didn't hear when Allegro woke up, the pixie too light to even rustle his heavy pillowcases-turned-sheets. He just kind of floated into Clef's peripheral vision slowly, and then landed in a sitting position on the desk, sniffing at the half-empty coffee cup with a crinkled nose. "Morning," Clef greeted. As if on cue, the pounding overhead started, like the single word was some kind of signal for obnoxiousness.

Allegro stared hard at the ceiling, as if trying to decide if there were any threats or not.

"Don't mind that," Clef said. "It's normal." Unfortunately. "Would you like something to eat?"

Allegro nodded. "Pasta."

Clef gave a small laugh. "We are _not_ having pasta for breakfast. I'll try to find something you'll like."

He studied the fridge once he was back in the kitchen. There hadn't been any issues with human-tampered fruit, so he would be sure to bring apple or banana slices down, but he also wanted to see what else Allegro could eat. If the pixie could eat Pop-Tarts or granola bars or something else that could be left out without going rotten, that would be best for the long days when Clef didn't get to spend any time at home at all. At the same time, it was also simply fun and interesting trying to find new things, trying to guess what Allegro would like.

Yogurt had been good yesterday, so dairy seemed to be okay. Perhaps they could try cheese, one of Clef's favorite things. So he dug out a handful of pre-sliced cheddar cheese and some crackers, and then, after a moment of thought, cut one of the cheese slices to smaller bits and broke a cracker up to pixie-manageable pieces. He arranged it all on a small plate along with a peeled orange, feeling like quite the chef, while waiting for some water to boil to make instant oatmeal.

When he brought everything back downstairs, Clef found Allegro poking at his phone, getting no response from the black device. He just smiled, saying "It's called a phone," as he set the plate and bowl down on his desk. "Or a cell phone, or a smart phone... Just phone is okay."

"What does it do?" Allegro asked, ever curious.

"Hmm... Everything?" Clef replied, and then laughed at the look Allegro gave him. "It's hard to explain, but things like you can connect to another phone with it and talk to people who are far away, or you can listen to music with it, or take pictures. Lots of things. It's really convenient."

"Show me."

Clef chuckled again as he laid a slice of cheese over a cracker and bit into it. Allegro copied him, putting one of the smaller pieces of cheese on a chunk of cracker and trying it out. He seemed to like it, and Clef was glad. "Okay," Clef said, using his free hand to switch the phone on and tap in the security code. He showed Allegro the texting app, explaining that the text in white was from his friends, and that they could use voice with it too. Allegro looked guardedly at the lines of typed words. When Clef showed him the pictures he had stored on the phone – mostly of performers from various music festivals, some of his dolls, his guitar, and his friends – Allegro's brows creased into a scowl, contemplation tinted with confusion and fear.

"How is that possible?"

"Honestly, I don't know. It's not magic; humans have just found a way to copy what we see and keep it, but I don't actually know the details of how." Then he smiled and showed Allegro how to swipe through the images to browse, fairly sure there wasn't anything embarrassing or incriminating in the album. As the pixie wiped his little hand across the screen, Clef scooped up a spoonful of oatmeal, holding it out to Allegro, who turned his head to take a bite without letting his eyes leave the phone.

Then suddenly, Allegro stopped his browsing and looked at Clef. He only stared for a moment, and then said, "That's good."

Seemed Allegro preferred sweet things. "It's maple and brown sugar," Clef replied. He would have to make pancakes next time he had a full day off.

Allegro had gone back to scrolling through the photos, and stopped on one of Clef and his band mates, taken at the last fest they had performed at, two years ago. He looked at it for a long time before finally looking up and saying, "It's you."

"Yep," Clef replied, the corner of his mouth pulling up into a half-smile. He actually really hated photos of himself. "I can take one of you, too." Probably. "Watch." And then Clef slipped the phone away from Allegro and switched to the camera app. Tapping the shutter, Clef was almost surprised when the screen showed a perfect capture of Allegro's image. The pixie really was just a regular, highly-intelligent living thing, and not some kind of specter. "See?" He put the phone back down for Allegro to analyze.

"That's me..."

"That's right. Cameras can copy anything the human eye can see, and some things we can't." Then an idea struck him, and he nearly gasped out loud. "After we eat, can I take some pictures of you?"

Allegro's brows drew together, looking unsure. Clef thought he would say no, and that was fine, but instead he just asked, "Why?"

"I really like taking pictures," Clef answered. "I have tons that I've taken of the dolls. It's fun. If I take pictures of you, you can pose yourself and do things the dolls can't, so I thought it would be interesting." He smiled, reassuring. "You don't have to if you don't want to, though."

For a long time, Allegro was silent, seeming to consider it, but then finally he said, "It's okay, but you can't show anyone."

Clef's smile brightened, excited by the idea. "All right."

" _No one_ ," Allegro insisted. "If you do-"

"Yeah, yeah," Clef interrupted. "You'll kill me and my whole family. I know. I won't show anyone, I promise."

"All right..." Allegro said, though there was a hesitance in his voice.

Clef sped through breakfast, stuffing cheese-covered cracker after cheese-covered cracker down his throat and washing it down with the remains of his coffee. He encouraged helpings of oatmeal into Allegro, all while considering what kind of scene to make for his lovely new model. Wrapped in feathers, sitting in the bird cage would make for a beautiful set, but he had the feeling Allegro would freak out at the very suggestion.

Another image come into his mind, remembering how much the button-up had looked like a boyfriend shirt when Allegro first put it on. He supposed the idea would be more suitable for a girl, but Allegro's delicate features and long hair could absolutely pull it off. So as soon as the last crumb of breakfast was gone, Clef practically ran up the stairs, throwing his dishes in the dishwasher, and then dug into the furthest reaches of a bathroom cupboard to find the decade-old bag of tiny rubber bands from when Stacey had worn braces. It was there, of course, because his grandparents never threw _anything_ away.

Allegro actually looked nervous when Clef got back to his room, and he had to remind himself not to get too excited and scare the pixie. "We'll do it on the dresser," Clef said as he reached for his camera bag. "And if you could take your sash off-" He pointed at his own waist. "But leave the shirt on." As Allegro slowly flew over towards the dresser, hands going to the cloth around his waist, Clef picked out the lens he would need and clicked it into place.

With the white shirt hanging loose around him, Allegro looked up uneasily at Clef, and Clef tried a comforting smile. "Is it okay if I adjust your shirt a bit?" And when Allegro nodded, Clef slowly reached over to unbutton the two topmost buttons of the shirt, leaving a sliver of Allegro's gray skin peeking through. "Looks good."

Allegro's eyes pulled away.

Then Clef outlined his idea, saying, "I'd like for you to stand facing the mirror, with your arms up like this." Clef stood with his arms reaching for the back of his head. "With your hair gathered in your hands. Do you know what a ponytail is?"

"No," Allegro answered flatly.

"Oh. Well, it's a way of tying your hair back so it's not in your face. Just... Hold your hair back and up."

Allegro's brow creased, but then he slowly moved, raising his arms and gathering up his hair. The pose stretched his body long, made his chest stick out, and lifted the shirt until the bottom hem ended just below his groin. It was cute, and a little bit sexy, for a tiny, little guy.

"That's perfect," Clef said with a smile. "Now I'd like for you to take this-" He fetched one of the little rubber bands from the bag he had dropped on the desk. "And hold it between your lips. Don't eat it! Just hold it with your lips. Okay?"

Allegro nodded and stared critically at the rubber band when Clef handed it to him.

After taking a moment to set up some extra lights, Clef got into position and directed his tiny model, saying, "Turn towards me a little. Half a step back. Bend your right knee just a little bit. Now raise your arms." Allegro followed well, so much easier than positioning a doll, checking in the viewfinder, positioning again, checking, and on and on until it was right. Clef could keep one eye pressed to the camera and call out instructions, and Allegro moved as needed. And when asked, Allegro held the rubber band in his lips and struck his pose.

The picture came out well, the ethereal lover putting herself back together after a rough tussle in the sheets with her handsome boyfriend. It told the story well, but there was something a little bit off about it.

"I'm going to take a few more shots, okay? Don't move." Then Clef tried a few more, changing the angle, changing the lighting. All the photos looked good, but there was still something missing.

And then he saw it.

It was the eyes.

Allegro hadn't known where to look or what kind of expression to give, so just stared blankly forward. It gave the picture a fake feeling, like the set stage that it was, instead of something natural or real.

He glanced at the pixie, who had begun to look annoyed, though he continued to hold the pose like a champ. Then Clef raised his camera again.

"Allegro."

Allegro's head moved, and Clef pressed the shutter button.

It was _perfect_. The pose was perfect, as was the lighting; it had a perfect bokeh effect, hiding all the background clutter, and Allegro's expression was _perfect_. The pixie had looked up to meet the lens's gaze in the mirror, surprise and curiosity drawn across his face when his name had been called. It completed the scene, looking intimate and private, and made something in Clef's tummy flutter.

"Is it... okay?" Allegro asked, and Clef looked up, realizing he had been staring at the picture for far too long.

"Yeah," Clef said, bringing up a smile. "It looks really good." He turned the camera's view screen towards Allegro, showing him the masterpiece. Allegro didn't seem to have much to say about it, and simply nodded slowly. "Want to do a few more?"

Allegro just shrugged slowly, seeming reluctant, but willing, so Clef went easy on him. They tried a few portrait-style shots, testing the camera's macro abilities to the max, and used various things around Clef's room as props. Draping the pixie in his headphones and other assorted cables made for a vaguely cyber-punk image; posing with a small teddy bear became cute and cuddly; a shot with a pen light under Allegro's chin was just plain spooky. It was fun, and it wasn't long before even Allegro seemed to be into it, quickly going along with any of Clef's suggestions and offering one or two of his own. It was when they were trying for a lovely picture with some fake flowers that Clef asked, "Do you want to try taking some outside? Natural lighting is best, and there's much better scenery than in my room."

"Is it cold outside?" Allegro asked, and that shot down that idea.

"Ah, maybe in the summer, then." If the pixie was even still around by then. "Still, we got some pretty nice shots from in here." He sat on the bed, flipping through the pictures on the camera's screen. When Allegro stood beside him, leaning against his knee as he looked through the images as well, Clef smiled, heart warming. "I really like this one," Clef said, stopping on one of the teddy bear shots. Allegro had turned his head just so, pressing his face into the bear's fur, and ended up looking shy. "It's really cute."

Allegro just shrugged.

Feeling a pinch of worry, Clef asked "Which one is your favorite?"

Allegro went silent for a while, then quietly said, "None of them."

"None?" Clef questioned, brows coming together. "I mean, I know my photography isn't super great, but isn't there-"

"Why did you want to do this?" Allegro asked suddenly, eyes not leaving the camera's screen.

Clef regarded him for a moment before answering "I told you, I just like taking pictures. It's a hobby of mine." Then, in order to hopefully help Allegro understand that Clef wasn't just collecting evidence of the pixie's existence so that he could sell him off to a zoo or something, he added, "I really like beautiful things. I always have. That's why I have those dolls over there. And I like preserving the image of the beautiful things I see in photographs so I can look at them anytime." He finished with a lame, "That's all..."

"Beautiful...?"

"Well... Yeah."

"But I'm not." Then Allegro flew over to the desk to grab the obi-turned-sash, wrapping it around his waist.

Clef climbed off the bed to chase after him, camera still in hand. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm not beautiful," Allegro answered simply.

"Are you _crazy_?"

"My eyes are too small, my teeth are too flat, and my feet hardly curl at all." His fingers stopped tying the sash at his waist, hesitated, and then his arms fell limp at his sides. "By pixie standards, I'm ugly."

What Allegro described sounded terrifying, like a bug-eyed alien with shark teeth. " _Look_ ," Clef said, pointing the camera's display screen at Allegro, forcing the pixie to look at the image of himself. "I don't know about pixie standards, but to me-" He paused then, face going warm, and then he went through with it. "You are beautiful."

Allegro's eyes moved from the camera to Clef, flushing pink as their gazes met. For a long time, they just stared at each other, as if trying to read each other, each trying to figure out the completely foreign being standing across from him.

And then Clef's phone rang, startling them both out of their stare-off. They each looked away, still for a moment, and then Allegro flew off towards his shelf on the bookcase while Clef reached for his phone.

It was Lan. "Hey, what's up?" Clef greeted.

"Hey," Lan replied. "Just wondering if you're still coming over today."

"Yeah, I was just-" Then Clef looked at the bedside clock, and his eyes went wide. He hadn't realized just how much time he had spent taking pictures with Allegro. "Sorry, I got caught up with some doll stuff and didn't realize what time it was. I'll head over right now."

"All right, cool," Lan replied. He didn't sound irritated or anything, as he rarely did, so that was good, but Clef still felt bad for leaving him waiting.

Before leaving, Clef fetched more food for Allegro and brought down a small Tupperware bowl with a lid. Perhaps later he would rig up a sheet or something to give Allegro a sense of privacy when he used it, though if the pixie was used to relieving himself in the open woods, it may not have been a concern.

He also grabbed a selection of books and magazines off the upstairs bookshelf, picking out a variety – from kids' story books to full-length novels to nature magazines and a catalogue of archeological finds – and hopefully there would be something in there to grab the pixie's attention and keep him occupied for a little while.

"I'm leaving now," Clef said to Allegro, who was plastered into the corner of his wine box bed, holding his violin close as he plucked out a little tune with his fingers instead of using the bow. "I left some books on the bed if you want something to read." When Allegro didn't respond, only hugged his violin tighter, Clef added "I don't know when I'll be back exactly, but it shouldn't be too late." Allegro still didn't say anything, making Clef worry, but he did nod, so at least he had heard.

Clef left the light on even though he knew he would get shit for it later.

Lan greeted him at the door with a friendly smile that lately had been doing strange things to Clef's stomach. As they headed downstairs to the music room, he explained the situation, saying "My company just got a new contract with a big-time client. Have you heard of Provincial Farm Insurance?"

"Yeah," Clef confirmed. "My grandparents get a lot of ads from them."

Lan nodded. "Apparently the majority of their customer base is old folks who are likely to die off in the near future."

"Hey, now."

"Except your grandparents," Lan amended quickly with a laugh. "They'll live forever."

"That's right."

"So, they want a new campaign aimed at a younger audience, and are insisting rock music be part of their new TV and radio ads. Something to make insurance seem cool."

Clef's lip quirked up as he set his guitar case in the usual spot. "Good luck with that."

Lan laughed. "Well, I've already basically come up with something that'll work." Because of course he did. If anyone could make insurance sound 'cool', it was Lan. "But..." Then his eyes turned to twinkle at Clef. "I can't play bass."

"You, of all people, could if you tried," Clef said as he flipped the latches on the heavy guitar case.

As Clef unpacked his bass, unraveling the strap and pulling it over himself, Lan said "What I have so far goes kind of like..." And then he began to hum a little melody. It was basic with just the sound of Lan's voice to describe it, but Clef could already hear the guitar riffs that would have been laid down and the beat a programmed drum machine would pound out.

Clef thought about it for a moment, letting the imagined music take root in his mind, in his soul. Then he plugged his bass into the amp, flicked the power knob, and said "Like this?" He played a line, nothing flashy, but one that he thought would go well with the tune Lan had hummed.

"Yeah, that's perfect," Lan replied, and Clef felt his heart thump at the praise. "You can listen to what I've recorded so far, and then we'll record your part. Sound okay?"

"Yeah," Clef answered, somewhat excited. He had never helped with Lan's work before, only kinda-sorta knew the basics of how the process went, so it was fascinating to see how it all went down.

He was handed a pair of professional-grade headphones – probably worth more than all the headphones Clef had ever owned in his life combined – and the track was played. After a couple listens, Clef was sure of what was needed, and after a practice run, garnering Lan's approval, they set up the microphone in front of the amp. Clef listened in the headphones while playing along, and the smile Lan gave when it was done had him feeling like he had done something right.

"That was great," Lan said, making Clef's heart warm. "I'll mix it in and we can listen to the full thing."

Clef hardly understood any of the programs Lan used to mix the tracks together, but Lan arranged everything on the digital soundboard like the pro that he was. He explained how he preferred to record each sound and each instrument separately, so if one thing needed to be changed or tweaked, or if the client wasn't satisfied or had changed their mind, he could fix just what needed to be fixed and not have to re-record everything. Clef thought it was quite interesting, and kind of wanted to fool around with the program himself, though he had no idea what he would do with it. He kept the silly idea to himself.

When it was all mixed and compiled, they listened to the finished product, and it was really good. Somewhat typical to what one would find in a commercial jingle, but different enough that it would probably stick in a few people's ears and remind them of where they could go when they needed insurance.

He did wonder, though, if the jingle needed that bit of stereotypical. He wondered what would happen if they went with something a little darker, edgier, faster. "I wonder..." he said, not realizing he had actually spoken out loud until Lan looked at him with a questioning brow and a hum. "Oh, I was just thinking."

"About?" Lan prompted.

It was Lan's song and Lan's work, so Clef was hesitant to say anything. But on the other hand, they had just spent time working on this project together, no matter how small Clef's part in it had been, so he kind of felt like part of it – a teeny-tiny, speck of a part – was his too. Theirs. Something they had created together. Their baby.

His face flushed warm.

Okay, not a _baby_ , but the bass line of the jingle had been left up to Clef, so if it were in regards to that part only, maybe it would be all right. "How about..." He put his fingers to the strings of his bass, paused, and then pulled out a different line. Something rough and grungy. Something 'youthful', with the sound of teen spirit.

When he finished, Lan was grinning, though Clef felt the need to confirm or explain himself with, "They wanted youthful, right?"

"That's _perfect_ ," Lan replied. "Can we record it?"

So they did, and then Lan mixed it in with the song, replacing the first take. When they listened to the final version, even Clef agreed that it was perfect. The client would be blown away. Maybe they would even give Clef a job. Then Lan sent it off via email to his employers, and Clef felt a shiver of excitement. His music would be on TV. Everyone would hear him play. He couldn't wait to tell his grandparents.

He felt Lan's arm wrap around his shoulders, hand landing in Clef's chocolate hair to give it a rustle. He pulled Clef close, and Clef's heart sped up to about ten-thousand miles per hour. He needed to remind himself that this was normal behavior; Lan had always been friendly with him, likely seeing him as something of a younger brother. "You're a genius," Lan said with a sincere smile.

"Me?"

"Yeah," Lan answered. "Maybe you don't believe it, but it's true. With that bass of yours, you can do anything."

Clef's face burned, but he couldn't find anything to say. He wanted to deny it – if he was such a genius, why was he stuck working a shitty part-time retail job instead of working with music for a living? – but for now he would just quietly accept it.

Lan went quiet, thoughtful, and then slowly his arm slipped away, leaving Clef's shoulders feeling abandoned. "I'll find us a real gig," Lan said quietly. "I promise. It's been too long since we've done anything."

Two years was a long time; especially if they actually wanted to go anywhere. They had gotten busy, complacent, but they all had a dream of going big, of playing their songs for huge audiences and sold-out arenas. As they were now, they were little better than a teenage garage band, but Lan didn't need to put that all on himself. "Don't worry about it," Clef said, smiling sympathetic. "It's not like any of the rest of us have been looking."

"Cade has," Lan revealed. "He's been scouring the web and actively calling people, looking for _something_. We talked about it a little before you came yesterday. We all want to perform again, for real."

Clef felt distinctly like an outsider, once again. Maybe he had been the only complacent one.

"And... Lindsay wants us to, as well," Lan continued, voice going even quieter. "We've been... kind of fighting lately." He looked like the confession hurt. Lindsay could be pretty passionate while Lan was often rather chill, like fire and ice, so their arguments often ended up with Lindsay lecturing at Lan while Lan just found something else to look at, seeming for all the world like he was ignoring her, though there was no doubt he was taking everything she said to heart. "She said she _knows_ I'm too good to be writing stupid jingles and getting no recognition."

On one hand, that seemed like a pretty harsh dig at Lan's work. It almost sounded like something a gold-digger who wanted a famous boyfriend would say, like one of those groupies who scouted new, talented people to hook up with in hopes of them making it so she could reap the benefits while saying she had been there for him all along. If he didn't make it, then she would disappear.

Lindsay wasn't like that, though. She had been with Lan since junior high school, since before the band, before the music. If she was overly harsh, it was just her way of trying to encourage Lan. Her way of speaking may not have been elegant, but she believed in Lan.

So all Clef said was, "I'll do whatever I can to help." Though, he didn't know what he could do. If Cade had already searched online and called around – already knowing far more websites and having more connections than Clef did – then there wouldn't be a whole hell of a lot that Clef could do that hadn't already been done. It wasn't like he would overhear something useful at Bullseye Mart, but he promised to keep an ear out anyway.

Then Lan lightly punched Clef in the arm, smile coming back to his face. "Come on, I'll take you out for dinner to repay you for helping today." He winked a blue eye, playful. "It'll be our date."

Clef's face went warm again, which was ridiculous. It was obviously a joke, not the first time Lan had teased in that way, and neither of them were actually interested in dating other men. He needed to get a grip.

But he was happy and excited to spend the one-on-one time with Lan. Lan was charming and smart, sympathetic, and easy to talk to. They sat at Granny Smith's for hours, chatting about everything and nothing, letting one topic flow to the next as they tore into burgers, fries, and then apple pie. They talked about music and movies and school memories. They talked about work issues and that one time Lan accidentally sent his client the six-hour remix of the 'Super Larry-O Brothers' song he had made as a joke instead of the work project he was supposed to send. By the time they got back to Lan's place, Clef was grinning from ear to ear.

And then he got back into his own car and let his head fall to the steering wheel.

"Damn it."

When he got home, Donnie was in the front yard, watering the grass or something, though it was already dark out, and in the dead of winter besides, ground frozen thoroughly. The water would just freeze to ice overnight instead of doing a lick of good for the lawn, and Clef couldn't even fathom what was going on in the kid's head for him to try.

Going in through the side door, he saw his grandfather sitting at the kitchen table, and he sighed inwardly. Here it came.

"You left your light on again," Grandpa said.

"Really? I was sure I had turned it off," Clef blatantly lied. "Guess I should have double-checked."

"I can't afford you keeping the light on at all times for no reason."

But he could afford dumping water all over the frozen-solid tundra of lawn. "I will give you money to cover the cost," Clef said yet again.

"I don't want your money; I want the damned lights off!"

Clef frowned, and then he snapped. "One of these days," he said in a controlled voice, shaking the heavy guitar case he held in his grandfather's direction. "I am going to be famous and really rich, and then I am going to give you _so much money_ you won't know what to do with it, and there's _nothing_ you can do about it."

His grandfather's lip pulled up at the ludicrous claim. "Sure."

At least he had gotten the old man off his back for the moment.

He should have seen it coming, couldn't say why he didn't, but as soon as Clef had his door even a crack open, Allegro zoomed out and kicked him in the face. He was mad, which was somehow better than the quiet, depressed-seeming thing he had been earlier.

"Where were you!?" the pixie demanded as Clef maneuvered his bass through the door. "I'm hungry and bored! I already explored every inch of this room and there is nothing interesting! You're so boring! I need something to do if you're going to leave me in here all the time!"

"I tried," Clef said when Allegro paused in his tirade to take a breath. "I left you some books. Did you look at them?"

"They're stupid. I don't even know what to do with them."

"You read-" Then he stopped. It was obvious, so he should have realized it sooner – not that it really mattered. Allegro was so intelligent, it was natural to presume otherwise, but when he thought about it logically, it made sense. "You don't know how to read, do you?" Because why _would_ a forest-dwelling creature know how to read? It wasn't like the rain forest had a library. It was likely that pixies didn't even have a written language, any more than a cat or a dog did.

"I don't know what that means."

"You're right that I'm stupid," Clef said, and Allegro pulled back as if shocked at the admission. "Humans have another language where we write symbols that mean words." He grabbed the archeology catalogue off the bed and pointed at a word in the title. "This says 'century'." The creased brow and bewildered look on Allegro's face was kind of cute. "By knowing these symbols, we can communicate without speaking."

"That's..." Allegro trailed off, looking as though undecided on how to respond. Finally, he just said "Nice."

"It may not be useful to you," Clef said, smiling. "Especially when you go back to your forest, but if you want me to teach you, I can."

Allegro's gaze pulled away, until eventually it seemed to fall on the pile of books, and after several long beats of silence, he finally said "Maybe..." Then he looked back up. "Right now, I'm hungry. Give me food."

"All right," Clef laughed. "I'll be right back."

He noticed some tissues in the Tupperware bowl, so he took that up with him, cleaning it out in the bathroom. It was a little embarrassing, but Clef reminded himself that it wasn't all that different than a pet owner cleaning up after their pet. It was just, in this case, the 'pet' could talk.

Clef really wasn't hungry himself, since he had just eaten with Lan, but he wanted to treat Allegro, feeling bad about leaving him bored for so many hours. So he grabbed a can of microwave pasta – spaghetti loops, this time – and heated it up. Hopefully it would cheer the pixie up.

Allegro's eyes _shimmered_ when he smelled the tomato sauce, and he raced over to the desk where Clef put the bowl down. "It's hot," Clef warned. "Don't just stick your hand in there." And when the pixie looked up at him, then turned a longing gaze back to the bowl, Clef laughed. "I'm trying to figure out what to do so you're not bored," Clef said next. "What kind of hobbies to pixies have?"

Allegro sat, crossing his arms over his chest. "Normal ones."

"What is normal for you?"

"Flying around, exploring things, eating."

"You don't play games or anything?"

His eyes pulled away. "Others do..."

But Allegro didn't have any friends, no one to play with. Clef almost felt bad for bringing it up. "Hmm... Well, humans spend a lot of time staring at boxes, like this." Clef tapped on the monitor of his computer, changing the subject. "It's packed full of information, but we mostly use it to look at pictures of cats." He gave a small laugh. Then he shook his mouse, waking the machine up. Allegro just watched as the monitor blinked to life, simply taking it in as he had the phone earlier. "We can look up anything you want to know. Like, _anything_."

Allegro was silent a moment, then said "Where I'm from."

Clef smiled soft, answering "We can try." Then he pulled up a map of their part of the world. He pointed a finger at roughly where they were in the country. "Right now, we're here." Then his finger moved down, down, down, traversing countries and continents, until it hit a spot of green. "I suspect you're from here."

"It's..." Allegro trailed off a moment, and then his brow creased. "Not so far away."

Clef let out a loud laugh, unable to stop it. "Actually, it's _very_ far, though I guess it's hard to tell on a map if you don't have a grasp of distance." And when Allegro just frowned, Clef said "Let's put it this way. How long would it take you to fly from one side of your forest to the other?"

Allegro's eyes went wide. "A long time. Weeks."

"The distance from there to here-" He pointed at the map again. "Is ten times greater."

Staring at the map, bewildered, Allegro's tiny mouth moved up and down for a moment, before he finally said "Oh."

"So if you ever plan on going back, you might want to book a plane ticket," Clef said with a smile.

Allegro's gaze pulled away, staring hard at nothing.

Clef's smile fell. He wondered if Allegro was homesick. "Is there anything else you would like to look up?"

After a long spat of silence, Allegro eventually answered "No."

"Maybe just some random net surfing?" He took a spoonful of the spaghetti loops and popped it into his mouth. It was still rather hot, but not enough to burn, and Allegro seemed to have a high tolerance for heat, so Clef nodded. Allegro immediately stuck his hand in and fished out a loop.

As they ate, Clef pulled up various sites, from meme collections to doll picture galleries to funny cat videos, anything he thought might amuse the picky pixie. Allegro didn't seem particularly interested in anything, simply watched everything go by without comment as he stuffed his face with cheap pasta. He got through about fifteen noodles before he sat back, then a moment later flew over to the tissue box for a tissue to clean his hands off with. Clef finished the bowl off as they watched a video of some guy dressed like a fox showing them how to sew super-small zippers into underwear, because apparently style wasn't only for outerwear. It made Clef wonder if he would be able to sew a pair of pants for Allegro.

"This is stupid," Allegro said.

Clef snorted a laugh. "Hey, apparently this guy is really popular."

"Popular doesn't mean not stupid."

"True," Clef agreed with a chuckle. "Then, do you want to play a game? I have some multi-player games on here."

Allegro was silent for a bit, and then said, "I've never played games before."

Clef's smile widened. "It's fun. Do you want to try?" And his heart warmed at Allegro's nod.

He pulled up a racing game; the controls were simple and there were no tricks to it, so Allegro wouldn't have a problem catching on. He gave instructions on how to control the little cars using the keyboard, and let Allegro do a tutorial course where he just zoomed his chosen silver car around the track freely, then when he declared that he understood, they switched it over to two-player mode.

It was fun, racing around the digital course, each trying to get the lead over the other. Clef was familiar with the game and it came pretty natural to him, so he thought he would beat a complete beginner easily, but Allegro held his own. Though Clef won most of their matches, some of them were pretty close. He actually lost a round when he took a glance at Allegro, then spent the rest of the race trying to hold in his giggles after seeing the look of grim determination on the pixie's face.

Racing games seemed to be a success, though Clef could only wonder how much he would get reamed if he left his computer on all day. He began to consider, given how much Allegro loved his violin, if the pixie would like music games as well.

"I have another game you might like," Clef said after another close-call victory. "It's a music game. Do you want to try it?"

"Okay," Allegro replied simply, taking his hands off of the computer keyboard.

So Clef fetched his phone and loaded up 'Rock Show'. "It's in another language, so even I can't read it or understand what they're saying, but the controls are easy to understand." The he showed Allegro how to play, picking a song almost at random and showing how to tap the screen to the beat. When Allegro nodded in understanding, Clef turned the phone over to him.

Allegro kneeled in front of the phone. He needed to use his whole hand to hit each note, instead of just fingers, like a human would, and it was one of the cuter things Clef had ever seen in his life. Every note Allegro touched flashed 'perfect!' and his score quickly rose, until he suddenly pulled his hands away. Several missed notes later, the animated gates closed, announcing that he had lost.

"What's wrong?" Clef asked. "You didn't like it?"

"It's boring."

Clef gave a small laugh. "Well, you did it on super easy mode. Maybe you should try raising the difficulty."

Allegro's brow creased, and then Clef showed him how to make the songs harder or easier. He set it at somewhere in the middle, then had Allegro try again.

Not only did Allegro finish the song this time, he actually seemed to enjoy it. A serious little scowl came to his face, getting into it. The notes came faster at this level, trickier, sometimes needing to press two at a time, sometimes needing to hold one while tapping another. On the harder difficulty settings, he would need to hold two while tapping one, or hold one while tapping two, or some other combination that Clef didn't know how the pixie would pull off with only having two hands. It was Allegro, though, so he would likely find a way.

When the song had ended and Allegro pulled his hands away again, Clef asked "Well? How was that?"

Allegro was still a bit, but then he nodded. "I liked it."

If only he would smile, then. "There are a ton of songs to choose from." He reached over and fingered the phone, showing the different bands the game had to offer. "This group uses a violin."

So Allegro picked a song by that group, upped the difficulty a bit more, and began once again. And once that was mastered, he picked another. Then another, and another after that. Clef was happy – ecstatic – that he had found something Allegro seemed to really like.

It gave him an idea. His second of the day – he was on a roll.

"Tomorrow..." he began slowly. "I'm going to be gone all day again." When Allegro looked up at his sharply, something sad in his eyes, Clef actually felt bad, even as he pressed on. "I have to work really early, and then I have band practice right after again."

"So..." Allegro looked down at the floating music notes and space ships of the game's title screen. "I'll be alone again?"

Clef's heart squeezed, but it wasn't like he could help it. He reminded himself that it was Allegro's own choice to stay here. "Yeah," he answered. "Sorry. But I was thinking, how about if I left my phone with you? You can play games on it, so you won't be as bored, and you can try to surf YuuTube and stuff. What do you think?"

Allegro gave a slow shrug, but then nodded. "I'm going to be stuck here either way, right? May as well. At least then I'll have something to do."

"All right," Clef said, relieved if even a little. "And also, the phone has a light on it." He reached to the phone again, closing the 'Rock Show' app and pulling up the utilities, switching on the phone's flashlight mode. "Would it be okay if I turned the light off in the room and you can use this instead?"

Allegro looked away, and then muttered, "I guess."

It wasn't a super great solution, but at least then his grandfather would get off his case about leaving the light on. It would be bad if his grandfather tore the door down as some kind of punishment for leaving it on and saw Allegro flying around or something. If he came down to check, as he had apparently been doing despite his weak legs, and saw the flashlight, Clef could just make up some lie about forgetting his phone and it always lights up like that when he gets a call.

It wasn't a great plan, but it might work out.


	5. Chapter 5

Clef was one of the few Apricot Valley branch Bullseye Mart employees who knew how to open and run the in-store café, and had shifts over there once or twice a week, usually. He enjoyed working in the café – it was a vastly different job than just cashiering, and the variety of work was refreshing, plus it put him far away from Jackie's looming eyes. It was also really nice to know he had made the café food he would eventually eat for lunch himself.

It did have its drawbacks, of course, one being that the opener had to arrive an hour early to get the place up and running for when the store opened. That meant Clef had to be up with the sunrise in order to get ready and get over there. It wasn't so much fun for a night owl like Clef. It didn't help that he barely got any sleep, the little shits upstairs playing some Bisney DVD at full volume on repeat all night, either. The constant barrage of cartoon sound effects and random songs had kept him up all night, making even Allegro complain from his box. Today was going to suck, even with a shit ton of caffeine.

The house was dark and quiet when he went upstairs to make a small breakfast. Allegro was still asleep, as was everyone else, so a simple breakfast for just himself would suffice. His exhausted hands fumbled at the coffee maker until it started bubbling, and then flopped around the toaster, trying to get a sliced bagel slotted in. He wasn't purposely trying to be loud or anything – though he wasn't exactly awake enough to make sure he was being quiet, either – but when a coffee cup slipped from his fingers, falling a short distance to the ones stacked beneath it, it _clanged_ loudly, seeming to echo, making even Clef wince.

And then the crying started.

Whining, really. It was that obnoxious sound kids made when they weren't really upset, just wanted attention. It was worse than real crying, so forced and fake. He heard that forced crying come through the living room, where the kids had been sleeping, then pause at the kitchen entry way. He looked to see Danny standing there, and when Danny saw that he had been given attention, he started up the fake crying again, bringing up his hands to rub at tears that weren't there.

The sound of a bedroom door opening coincided with Danny turning to head down the hall towards their grandparents' rooms, and Clef heard his grandmother ask "What's wrong?" Either she had slept with her hearing aid in, or had some kind of super, baby-alert grandma sense.

"Clef woke me up," Danny's voice whined from down the hall.

"What?"

"Clef woke me up!"

"Oh." Then Grandma's voice went quiet, but not nearly as quiet as she thought it was, unable to actually hear herself. "Well, some people are just inconsiderate. Come on, you can sleep in my room." A moment later, her door closed.

Clef saw red. Anger burned through him, making his movements harsh as he tried to get his breakfast together. Those little fucks had kept him up all night with their loud-ass movie, and _he_ was the inconsiderate one? They spent day in and day out yelling and screaming and _pounding_ so hard right above his head until he had migraines and couldn't concentrate on anything but the noise, and _he_ was _inconsiderate_?

In a rage, Clef kicked an under-counter drawer _hard_ , making the pots and pans inside it crash together. Then he slammed his bagel onto a plate and slapped some butter onto it, then _threw_ the knife into the sink. If he was going to be called inconsiderate, then he may as well _be_ fucking inconsiderate.

Once he had his coffee in a mug, he stormed down the stairs to his room, kicking the door open. He needed to get out of here. He needed to get out of this fucking house and move far away and never talk to any of these people again. They probably wouldn't miss him anyway.

When he turned to go to his closet, though, he saw Allegro peering out over his box, worry on his brow, concern in his eyes. It made much of the anger drain from Clef.

"Did something happen?" Allegro asked softly.

"No," Clef replied with a sigh. "Don't worry about it. I'm sorry I woke you."

Allegro's brows drew together, but then he nodded and slipped back down into his box.

Anger boiled down to a simmer, Clef ate his breakfast as quickly as possible, and then got ready for work. Before leaving, he plugged his phone in so that the battery wouldn't die during the day, and placed it next to Allegro's bed. The pixie had gone back to sleep, and Clef was glad for that.

Thinking of that tiny face slack in slumber was the only thing to keep him from slamming the side door shut as he left the house.

Clef liked café work, but it did come with its own special brand of stupid. People complained about the dumbest things, like the salads not having enough raisins in them, or too many raisins in them. People bitched if they didn't have the exact kind of soda they wanted, or if there weren't any pretzels left, because things selling out was a foreign concept to them and why wasn't he making more magically unfrozen right that very second? If he used the microwave, they bitched that it didn't taste right.

Sometimes customers demanded he make a sandwich for them fresh, instead of just taking one from the case. Sometimes, so many fucking people would want popcorn all at the same time that Clef would have to call someone over to run the register while he just stayed at the popcorn machine, making and filling bag after bag after bag of the shit. It would fill half the store with the scent of popcorn, drawing in more customers to the café, until Clef was sure he would spend the rest of his life drowning in it.

He had just turned on the lights, declaring the café open with the rest of the store, and then ran in back to grab some frozen baggies of soup to toss in the warmer. When he came back out to the floor, dropping the packets into their awaiting hot water, he saw that Creepy Guy was there, bright and early, inspecting the tables. Clef braced himself.

"Your tables are dirty," Creepy Guy said, looking up at Clef like it was a joke. This guy came here literally every single day, even trudging through snowstorms and tornados to come, and found something to complain about every single day. Clef could only wonder why he kept coming if he hated the place so much, but just looking at the guy, Clef could tell there was a screw loose somewhere.

"Nah, that's impossible," Clef said, trying to play friendly, or at least casual. "I wiped them down just a bit ago, and nobody's been here yet."

"They're dirty, I tell ya," the guy said as he approached the register. "I don't want to eat on them. You have to clean them. Gimme a hot coffee."

Clef kept the eye roll and 'whatever' to himself, simply asking "Large or regular?"

"Large." Then when he had paid his money and received his coffee, he began wandering towards the sales floor, all the while ranting "You can't have tables this dirty. You gotta clean them. I wouldn't eat on those tables. Dirty."

When the guy was gone, Clef let his lip curl into a sneer, and then he went and inspected the tables himself. Maybe he had missed something on his morning wipe down. But he hadn't; the tables were clean as if they hadn't been used yet that day, because they _hadn't_ been.

He went about his tasks, checking if the pretzels were soft enough, checking the temperature of the hot dogs, but not too many minutes later the cart attendant, Serena, poked her head in through the café's rear door, behind the register. "Creepy Guy is complaining to Jackie," she said. "He's saying the tables are dirty."

"They're _not_ ," Clef nearly snapped.

"I'm just reporting what he said," she replied, cool as ever. "Just letting you know." Then she slipped back through the door and disappeared.

"I don't _fucking_ believe this," Clef hissed to himself as he went to the back room and snatched up the bottle of cleaner and a handful of paper towels. He began scrubbing at the tables, noticing once again how _clean they already fucking were_ as he did so.

Then Creepy Guy wandered by again, commenting "Oh sure, _now_ you're cleaning them," and it took everything Clef had not to scream at the guy to go fuck himself with a splintered broom.

He was so _done_ with this day already, and it had barely just started.

He made it a few hours without incident, aside from some lady in cheap pearls demanding to know what the hot dogs were made of, an inquiry to which Clef could only stupidly answer with "... Meat?" But somehow he made it to his first break, treating himself to some candy from the break room's vending machine, and then he sat with his head lying on a table, thinking about how much he would rather be at home, playing games with Allegro, or at Lan's place, rocking out with his bandmates.

He thought, for some mysterious reason, that the next segment of the day would be better. He had already been shit on by his family and customers; what else could possibly happen?

He found out exactly what else could happen shortly after his break ended.

It was slow, because of course it would be while he was on break, and he used the lull to take care of the little things the person who had covered for him wasn't responsible for taking care of. The straw box was filled, chip bags stocked and nicely arranged, and fresh coffee set to brew. He even had a moment to step in the back and drink from the cup of water he had hidden back there.

A woman was in the café when he returned, with her head poking into the popcorn machine. Instead of grabbing a filled bag, though, she grabbed the scoop that rested inside and began to push the unbagged popcorn around. People did that sometimes, scooping up and bagging their own popcorn like they thought it was any different, like it wasn't all from the same batch anyway. But this woman didn't bag herself any popcorn; instead, she put the scoop down and closed the machine's plastic doors, and then approached Clef while pulling a slim, black wallet from her coat pocket.

"I'm an inspector from the Verger Province Health Department," she said, making Clef go still. "We had a complaint yesterday that there was some moldy popcorn found in this store's popcorn machine. Could you tell me your nightly cleaning routine?"

It wasn't fair. He hadn't even worked over here in a week. "Well, I always take everything apart and wash it in the sink in back, like the manual's procedures say to do." Then, defensively, he added "But I haven't been over here in a while and I don't know who was, so I couldn't tell you how that person does it."

"Either way, you need to make sure you're cleaning up every piece of unused product."

"I do."

"Because of the complaint, I'm going to need you to do a full cleaning right now, and I'll be doing an inspection of the rest of the facilities."

Clef was _livid_. He wanted to yell at her, tell her what a cunt she was being, acting like it was his fault, like _he_ was the screw-up when he hadn't even been here. He wanted to snap and tell her to get out, but she had a badge and he didn't, so he kept his mouth shut and fumed in impotent silence, like always. His hand shook as he picked up the red phone that would connect him to the front desk to inform Jackie of what was going on, so she could be prepared if – _when_ – complaints came that no one could buy popcorn.

He had to throw away so much popcorn – so much food wasted – all while the bitch poked her nose into the shelves of stocked food and rummaged through the refrigerators. Just as he had pulled the bottom try from the popcorn machine – a huge sheet of metal, wider than Clef himself was – and began to haul it to the back sinks, the lady came up to him, holding a bag of lettuce.

"When was this opened?" she asked.

"I don't know; I wasn't here."

"It's dated wrong." She pointed at a single sticker bearing yesterday's date that was plastered to the side of the bag. "Is this the day it was opened, or the day it expires?"

"I don't know; I wasn't here."

"It needs to have two stickers, one for the day the bag was opened, and one for the day it expires."

"I don't know; I wasn't here." He was mocking now, and really didn't care. He had passed being sick and tired of being treated like a failure and lectured over every little thing long ago.

"All the open, improperly-dated items need to be thrown out and new product with correct dates used. Can you do that?"

This time, Clef just stared at her, keeping his gaze impassive for what felt like several full minutes, until she finally stepped out of the way so he could continue on towards the back, laying the metal tray on the counter next to the sink – it wouldn't actually fit inside the sink itself.

He scrubbed the damn thing, so pissed off it was probably given the best washing of its life, Clef taking his anger out on it with a scouring pad. The inspector lady had fucked off at some point, not saying anything else to him. He didn't know if she had words with Jackie at all. If she did, nothing had been said to Clef about it.

Between waiting on customers and cleaning the popcorn machine, two hours had passed before the thing was finally put back into one piece. The complaints came, more people acting like Clef was the bad guy for things out of his control, but he came to a zen-like place where he just couldn't seem to care anymore. The "I'm sorry"s fell from his lips automatically, until a co-worker came to relieve him for lunch, and then he practically ran from the café.

He bought a hamburger and some chips for lunch, then went ahead and also got two pretzels and three small cups of nacho cheese to dip them in, because fuck if he didn't deserve to eat whatever he wanted after the way today had been. When he got to the break room, he immediately went to his locker to get his phone, belatedly realizing he didn't have it after patting at his empty coat pocket. Instead of playing games, he spent his lunch sitting at a table, fuming in silence. At least the room was quiet. At least no one was around to ask him what was wrong and try to make him talk.

Until Katie came in, grinning when she saw him, and Clef was okay wither her being around. "How's your back?" he asked as she put her coat and purse in a locker.

"Awful!" she replied. "It hurts so bad, I wanted to call in again, but..." Then she turned to Clef and shrugged with a smile. "I have to work so I can spoil my daughter."

How noble. Clef smiled back as he said "Well, hang in there."

"Don't worry, I have drugs!" She flashed a box of Bullseye Mart-brand pain killers.

"Woah, hey now. This is a drug-free zone."

"Not anymore!" Katie laughed. Then she pushed her locker shut, stuffed the key in her pocket, then flounced over and slid into the chair next to Clef. She grinned as she said " _So_ , I heard from Mikey that you were asking about being gay."

"Shush!" Clef spat, heart racing as he sat up straighter and looked around the room to see if anyone else had heard. The room was still empty besides the two of them. "I was just curious," he said in a hushed tone.

"Is that all?" she asked with a raised brow.

"Well..."

Her smile turned softer, still a human with some compassion under all her silliness, still a friend. "You can tell me."

"It's just..." He paused, then took a breath. "Lately I've been thinking about one of my bandmates an awful lot." It... actually didn't hurt to admit at all. Like it was fine; like it didn't change the universe and who he was.

"The hot, blond one?" Katie guessed with a half-smile.

"Lan, yeah," Clef confirmed, feeling his cheeks go warm. "Like... We've been friends for a while and it's always been fine and normal, but then a few days ago I had a-" Don't say fantasy. "A _dream_ about him, and it's like it changed the way I look at him." It felt good to say it out loud.

"Well, you should go for it!" Katie said, smile going broad.

"No way." Clef's own smile was pained, facing another truth. "He's absolutely straight, and he already has a girlfriend."

"Go for it anyway!" she laughed. "You never know what could happen."

Like Lan would break up with his hot girlfriend for a fat, boring _dude_. "Even if he were into guys, and he's _not_ , I wouldn't stand a chance anyway. And besides, I don't even know if I'm really... like that, or if it's just remnants of a stupid dream." He gave a shrug to finish.

"You won't know unless you try," Katie recited as she stood. "You at the café today?" she asked, pointing at the black cap that food workers had to wear laying on the table.

"Yeah," Clef answered. "I opened today." The conversation had almost made him forget the incident with the health inspector and how pissed off he was because of it, for which he was grateful.

She frowned. "Then I'll be stuck on the registers by myself."

"Good luck," Clef called as Katie headed out of the break room. Bitch health inspectors and creepy assholes aside, he would still rather work the café over the registers any day. Everyone who walked through the store's front doors was going to treat him like he was stupid either way.

He spent the rest of his lunch break looking at the break room's bulletin board, just for something to do, and found the list of comments that had been included on filled-out customer surveys. There were a few nice comments, the occasional person saying how much they enjoyed shopping at the store, but the vast majority were complaints. From stock running out to a lack of someplace to dump off their children while they shopped for shoes, everyone had something to whine about. One person even wrote that the store should open the café earlier so that they could get some coffee before work.

"Go to fucking Starbucks," Clef muttered, and then he snatched his cap up off the table and headed back down.

Clef's heart beat heavy as he turned into Lan's neighborhood. It had felt good to talk about his feelings with someone, even just a little, but actually admitting he might be crushing on a _guy_ was scary. It teased open the door to a whole new side of himself, and he found himself excited as he steered his car near Lan's place.

That excitement died quick when Lan's condo came into view.

Neither Cade's nor Gaku's cars were parked in the driveway. Instead, Lindsay's small sedan was there, parked right in the center of the driveway as if to block Lan's car in the garage and keep everyone else out.

He thought about leaving, driving right by and continuing on home. The image of everyone practicing without him, though, assuming he was a no-show to a slightly delayed session, had him parking in front of the condo and pulling his bass from the trunk with anxious flutters in his chest.

It took several moments, longer than usual, for Lan to answer the door after Clef knocked, and when he did it was with a scowl on his brow, his eyelids hanging low, looking purposefully impassive. He was angry. His greeting was a simple, short, "Hey."

"Hey..." Clef replied slowly.

"Yeah... Practice is cancelled for today," Lan said. His voice was tight and he wouldn't meet Clef's gaze. "I texted you and tried to call, but there was no answer."

"Oh, yeah, I... forgot my phone at home and I've been a work all day."

"Yeah, well... Sorry. I'm having a bit of a personal issue."

"Is that Cadence?" Lindsay's voice drifted in from the living room, coming closer as she said, "If it is, tell him to leave and don't come back." Then she appeared in Clef's line of view, behind Lan. Her green eyes were hard, arms crossed over her chest. Her perfectly-painted lips held a frown as she looked at Clef, and then she said "Oh, it's just you," and spun to head back into the living room.

Lan sighed, frustrated. "Can I call you later?"

"Yeah," Clef responded. "No problem."

"All right. Sorry. See ya."

Clef gave a little wave, then turned and headed back to his car.

Once he was alone and confined, the anger seared through him again, growling a loud " _Fuck_ " as he punched the steering wheel with his palm. One fucking thing to look forward to and it was ruined because precious Lindsay Dalia needed attention or something. She didn't get Lan all to herself often enough; now she had to interfere with their band practice too. And what the fuck was that about Cade?

For a moment, he really just wanted Lindsay to disappear. She had everything – good looks, an effortlessly perfect body, a well-off family – and he really couldn't stand people like that. She had everything and she had _Lan_ , and yet she still wanted more. She wanted to dictate Lan's future and, apparently, have her say in the band, too, like she had some kind of right to do so.

At the same time, though, he didn't want to think that way. He knew in his head that Lindsay wasn't really like that. She was usually a nice person, generous and supportive, and if she was getting on Lan's case about something, there was probably a good reason for it.

He knew all that, but at the moment, he was pissed off. She had caused yet another letdown in a day full of suck and betrayal, and he just wasn't in the mood for forgiveness or rational thought.

"Dumb bitch," he muttered as he tore off down the street.

He came to a quiet home, free of screaming kids, with a box of donuts sitting on the kitchen counter. His grandfather sat at the kitchen table with one of the powdered-sugar treats on a small plate in front of him, and for once, Clef was the one to grump first. "You bought _donuts_?" he almost snapped. "You know I need to lose weight."

"You don't have to eat any."

"Why would you force the temptation onto me?" Though he knew the answer was because everyone enjoyed making his life as hard as possible.

"I'll buy donuts if I damn well want!" was Grandpa's reply, and that was the end of that. A request that he keep them in his own room likely wouldn't fly either.

Clef scowled, snatched a donut from the box, and stuffed it into his face as he stormed down the stairs. When he reached his bedroom door, he unlocked it, cracked it open, and then immediately stepped to the side.

Allegro flew out of the room, foot poised to strike, looking almost comically shocked as he whizzed right by without making contact. Clef wasn't in the mind set to be amused, though. He just walked by the pixie, punching the light switch as he entered the room, coldly saying "I'm not in the mood."

Allegro kicked him in the back of the head instead, face set in a scowl when Clef whirled to face him. "I thought you weren't going to lock me in a cage!"

Then the whole world stopped. They stood still for a long time, watching each other, silent, and Clef felt the anger drain out of him. He was surprised at the accusation, and even though he was pretty sure he understood what Allegro meant, he still found himself reflexively defending himself, quietly saying "I- I didn't..."

"There are no bars, but this has still become my cage, hasn't it?" He gestured a tiny hand around the room. "It was better with the phone thing, but I'm still trapped. I'm used to having an entire forest to explore."

Clef wondered if that was how his bird had felt, stifled in its prison, unable to even look at the sky. Just another piece of junk piled around the room. Clef felt like shit. He couldn't even take care of himself, stuffing his face full of shit food and throwing angry tantrums whenever he was pissed off, and yet he had thought he could take care of a living thing, and he had killed it.

And now another living thing had come into his care, but at least this one could yell at him and tell him how shit he was.

"I'm sorry," Clef said softly. "I'm not good at taking care of things, and you coming here was rather unexpected, so I'm not sure what to do." At that, Allegro looked away, scowl slipping from his face. He didn't say anything, though, so Clef continued. "I've been trying to think of ways to make your stay here better. That's why I left my phone. But I don't have many options. My family is always around, and I can't afford to move out on my own. Sorry."

Allegro's lip took on a frown, nearing a pout. He looked guilty. Then he flew over to his shelf, sitting in front of his bed with his back turned to Clef.

"Tomorrow," Clef started. Then he sat his guitar case down and went to Allegro's shelf, eyes fixed on the pixie's back. "I'll leave my room unlocked. I think the kids might be gone, so it should be safe, though I guess if I'm wrong about that you'll need to hide quickly."

Allegro looked over his shoulder. "I can leave here?"

"If you want; it's up to you. Just watch out for my grandparents. If they see you, it's your own fault, so don't get mad at me."

"I know how to hide," Allegro replied.

"Fine," Clef said as he plopped down onto his bed, laying back and letting his head freefall to the pillow. "We'll give it a whirl. Nobody better come in here, though." He acknowledged that sometimes he sounded more like an emo teenager than a twenty-two-year-old college graduate.

It was a bit surprising when Allegro casually flew over and sat on the pillow, next to Clef's head, but it made him strangely happy, like taming a wild animal. "So?" Allegro questioned as he pulled his feet in to sit cross-legged. "What are you so pissy about?"

Clef sighed loud and threw an arm over his eyes. "Everything. Today has been shit." As most days were since he moved into this house. "Berated by my family for something out of my control; berated at work for something out of my control; band practice cancelled. It's been one thing after another and through it all-" He stopped, heart beating heavy. Maybe it was too soon to say it again, like it would make it a little bit truer. Then again, maybe it didn't count if he said it to Allegro, since pixies weren't real. "I think I might have feelings for my friend," he said as his arm slid from his face, uncovering his eyes so he could stare at the ceiling.

"Have feelings?"

"Like... Maybe I like him."

"Humans don't usually like their friends?"

"No," Clef answered, and then immediately amended to "I mean, yes." He brought his hands up, gesturing in the air as he attempted to explain. "Of course we _like_ our friends, but we also use 'like' to mean a person is very special to us, more than as a friend."

"Like love?"

Clef's face went warm. "Y-Yes..." He hadn't been sure pixies had a concept for love.

"So you love your friend?"

Now his face was burning. "Well, love is a very strong feeling. Let's keep it at _like_ for now. And maybe not even that. Maybe it's just friendship. I don't know myself, and it's scary."

He heard Allegro give a little snort. "How is it scary? If you want to mate with him, then mate with him."

Clef scrambled to sit up, staring horrified at Allegro, who simply looked impassively back. "I can't do that! We're both guys!"

Allegro blinked. "That's forbidden for humans?"

"Well... no..." Clef replied. "But it's not always readily accepted, either."

After a thoughtful hum, Allegro said "It's not very common in pixies either, but when it does happen, nobody cares. The need to mate hits us really hard, so if we need it and the only one around is the same gender, it's no problem." Then he shrugged. "Some even prefer the same gender."

It sounded a lot like humans. "So... What about you?" Clef asked, though it, admittedly, felt invasive to do so. The way Allegro spoke so casually of it made him believe it was likely okay to ask, though.

"Me?"

"Do you-" He cut himself off, changing his mind. He didn't want to know. "Never mind."

Allegro raised a brow. "If you're asking whether I prefer different or same genders, the answer is neither." Then his eyes narrowed, his look of contemplation falling to something far more bitter. "I hate everyone."

"What do you do when the- Uh... The need to mate hits you?"

"It never has."

"Never?"

"No," Allegro confirmed. Then he leaned in closer to emphasize his words. "Because I _hate_ everyone."

Sometimes, Clef wished he could hate everyone as much as he claimed he did. "Well, it's not so easy for humans. For years, liking the same gender _was_ forbidden. It's better now, and in many places it's totally okay, but sometimes there's still a remaining stigma. For some people, it's very uncomfortable to admit."

"So, it's scary?"

"Yeah..." Clef admitted quietly. "I have things hard enough as it is; I would much rather be... normal." He hated to use the term, but it was the simplest way to express that, in this case at least, he would rather just be another one of the majority. He would rather be special for his music or other achievements, not who he wanted to sleep with.

Allegro lifted from the pillow, floating away like a dream as he said, "Humans are stupid."

Clef felt like he had heard that somewhere before, and he didn't disagree. He pressed a hand to his forehead, as if trying to physically stop his thoughts. He didn't want to deal with this right now, or ever. He wanted to forget about Lan and family and work. He was so drained and frustrated about everything that had happened that day, he kind of wanted to just die.

And then music touched his ear, uplifting without being obnoxiously chipper, notes climbing high to dance through the air before landing low, only to fly again. It was comforting, calming, and Clef pulled his hand away to see Allegro sitting on his shelf, playing his violin. His tiny fingers pressed miniscule strings without even looking, sure and precise as his body waved back and forth, eyes closed. His bow held dainty, moving in smooth strokes, pulling the beautiful sound from the instrument.

It was Allegro's way of consoling him, and it worked like a small miracle. Whether it was the song itself or simply the gesture, Clef didn't know, but he felt worlds better than he had in a long time.

Smile coming to his face, Clef climbed off the bed and paced over to his guitar case, easing out his bass and flipping the strap around his shoulders. He found the small amp for at-home practice and plugged it in, and then he waited.

He was able to slide into Allegro's song with ease, as if they had been playing together for years. Their individual sounds wove around each other until they became one, a new symphony born, and Clef couldn't remember ever being so happy before. There was magic in the music, like it had the power to connect hearts and realign the universe.

He glanced up at Allegro, and what he saw nearly took his breath away. Tiny and fragile, as precious as it was beautiful. It was a rarity that Clef found himself wanting to protect.

Allegro was smiling.

Clef could feel his own face light up at the pixie's expression, smiling soft even as Allegro's eyes opened and their gazes met. The continued to play just like that, gentle smiles and radiant music, content and more than thoroughly comforted.

They were interrupted by Clef's phone ringing. Clef's fingers stopped, as did Allegro's bow, both of their smiles fading as if reluctant to quit. But then Clef snapped out of his trance, unplugged his amp, and went for the phone still sitting on Allegro's shelf.

It was Lan.

"Hey," Clef answered, unplugging the phone as he did so.

"Hey," Lan replied, sounding absolutely drained. "Sorry about earlier. Things were a little tense and I didn't want to drag you into the middle of it."

"No, don't worry about it." Then he quickly pulled the phone away to slip the bass strap over his head before adding "We all have our private things."

"Yeah, well..." He trailed off for a beat before continuing with "I told you before that Linds is getting on my case about doing... something. More than what I'm doing now."

"Yeah," Clef prompted.

"So her issue today is that if I'm going to continue to try and go somewhere with the band, we should at least replace Cade."

That genuinely surprised Clef, and he could feel his brow crease. "What? Why? Cade is one of the best guitarists out there. If anyone should be replaced, it should be..." He didn't finish, suddenly too scared of giving Lan any ideas.

"Nobody's being replaced," Lan replied in a serious tone. "Not Cade, not you, nobody." It was a small comfort. "And when I told Linds that, she lectured on and on about how Cade is dragging us down."

Clef wondered if Lan mentioned to her that it was their band and none of her business, but all he asked was, "Does she have a grudge against Cade or something?"

"I don't know, man. I don't think so. She has no reason to."

"Well..." Clef tried to think of something to say, so advice he could give, but he couldn't think of anything useful. He didn't know Lindsay like Lan did, and had no way of knowing where she was coming from or if something happened. All he knew was his own opinion, so that's all he offered. "If you ask me, I think Cade is fine. I've never felt like he was dragging us down."

"Yeah," Lan agreed. "I think so too. Hell, putting a band together was Cade's idea in the first place. 'Curse of ROM' wouldn't exist if it weren't for him."

"Right? I wouldn't have even met you guys if it weren't for him."

Lan made a sound akin to nodding into the phone, then went silent for a beat before saying, "Well, I guess Linds and I are going to keep on fighting about this, because I'm not replacing him."

"Good luck," Clef replied, though he wasn't sure if he meant it or not.

"Anyway," Lan said with a sigh. "I just wanted to say sorry again and let you know what's up."

"No need to apologize," Clef replied, smile coming back. It meant a lot to him that Lan came to him to talk it out, even as he tried to ignore the heavy beating in his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Side note:  
> Everything that happens to Clef at work in this story are things that have actually happened to me when I worked in retail. -_- Please be nice to cashiers.


	6. Chapter 6

Cashier work the following day, same as usual, which was better than bonus stupidity he supposed. None of his work buddies had any overlapping shifts that day, so they day was devoid of fun, but at least he didn't have to face them after his kind-of confession.

Band practice was held as scheduled, thankfully, and as they played Clef found himself paying special attention to Cade's playing. It was fine. As fine as he had known it would be. Sure, Cade made mistakes here and there, but they all did. There was absolutely nothing in his playing that warranted getting kicked out of a band he had put together himself, and Clef again grew angry at Lindsay for picking on him. If she had a personal grudge or something, she needed to be up front about it so they could understand, otherwise she just came off sounding like a bitch. Or perhaps she could just stay the fuck out of their business altogether.

In the end, neither Clef nor Lan mentioned Lindsay's insistence to Cade.

They were in the middle of playing ' _My Heart, Against My Will_ ' when _something_ suddenly squeezed in Clef's chest. His hands stopped, whole body going stiff as a deep feeling of dread curdled in his gut, making him sick.

But the guys played on, and as the feeling passed, Clef pushed on, forcing his hands to move again. Somehow, he got through the song, and when the last notes of Lan's voice faded out, there was a pause, and then Lan turned and looked at him. "You alright, man? You stopped for a second there."

"Yeah, sorry. I jammed my finger at work and it got a bit sore." He should become a professional liar. "It's good now, though."

"A'ight, well, if you want to take a break, it's okay."

"Nah, I'm good," Clef responded with a smile. So they continued on, the whole while some kind of unease making Clef want to run from... something.

When they were finished, the suggestion for dinner was again made, and again declined. Even though he felt guilty towards his friends, Clef was too worried to stay away from home much longer. So he bowed out, claiming simple exhaustion as he packed his bass away.

Cade was looking at him suspiciously when he turned to give a parting wave. "Have you got a secret girlfriend or something?" Cade asked with narrowed eyes.

Clef's face warmed and his eyes darted to Lan, who was watching him with a smile. "N-No," Clef stuttered in response. "Of course not. I'm just tired from work."

Cade nodded like he didn't believe it at all, but Clef didn't give him time for further teasing or questioning. He grabbed up his guitar case, threw a wave, and then saw himself out. It was a little bit more curt, perhaps bordering rude, then how he usually parted with them, but something was tugging at him.

He raced home as fast as the suddenly over-abundant traffic would allow, praying he didn't cross any cops. Everything seemed normal when he got home; his grandfather sat in his recliner in the living room – no kids in sight; they had definitely gone back to their own house – watching football on TV while Tom sat meowing at the fireplace. His grandmother was in the kitchen with her tea, and he gave a short "Hey" in greeting as he hurried towards his room.

"Tom was playing with one of your doll props," Grandma called out, stopping Clef dead in his tracks. Then she held the tiny, brown thing out to him, adding, "It's cute."

Clef's heart stopped and his eyes began to burn hot and wet as he took the tiny violin from her.

Then he ran to his room, nearly tripping down the stairs. His door was cracked open – he had left it unlocked, as promised – and the light was on, as he had left it. He burst into the room, practically throwing his bass down as he called out, "Allegro?" There was no response, though; the pixie wasn't in the room.

He rushed towards the bookcase anyway, needing to check for sure, but he stopped short when he saw the miniscule violin bow laying on the floor. He had almost stepped on it, and his heart throbbed as he bent to pick it up, placing both the bow and violin on Allegro's shelf before running back up the stairs.

He was a complete idiot. He had been so concerned about his grandparents seeing Allegro that he had completely forgotten to warn him about the cat. To Tom, Allegro was something to be hunted like prey, or a toy. And while hiding from a pair of slow, old humans wouldn't have been a problem – not for real – a cat was another story. Cats were built to chase and kill small, quick things.

Clef swallowed a sob as he ran into the living room. Tom was still at the fireplace, meowing incessantly, and Clef checked the chain that indicated if the flue was open or closed. His heart sank when he saw it was open.

"The cat was chasing a bug or a bat or something," Grandpa said from across the room. "I opened the chimney to let it out, but the damn cat won't shut up. I'm about to kick him out to freeze."

Clef didn't respond. He ran outside, getting blasted by a frozen wind, and almost prayed that Allegro wasn't out here. The little pixie was so sensitive to cold, he might not be able to survive in the icy, biting temperatures. If Clef could go back inside and find Allegro curled up in his wine box, ready to kick him in the face and complain of being hungry, it would be worth looking like an ass running around outside on a winter night for no reason.

He ran around the house, using his phone as a flashlight, calling out, "Allegro! _Allegro_!" and dreading the lack of response. He didn't find any sign of the pixie on the ground anywhere, so with fear racing through him, he headed to the tree that stood tall alongside the house.

As a kid, Clef loved climbing this tree, close enough to the house that he could scale the branches and climb out onto the roof of the house. He loved being up high, and it was a nice place for silence and solitude, since none of his cousins were ever brave enough to follow. Climbing it now was far more difficult than he remembered, twice the weight he was back then. Hopefully the branches held him.

When he had stepped out onto the roof, he immediately shined his phone in the direction of the chimney. He wasn't sure if he felt relief or dread when he didn't see anything, because if Allegro wasn't out here, where was he? Out in the city somewhere? Lost and freezing?

But then he did see something. Tiny and still, white shirt catching the light as Clef drew closer, Allegro's body lay motionless in the crease where chimney met roof. Clef gasped, and somehow he managed to run across the icy, sloped roof, kneeling beside the unconscious pixie. "Allegro!" he called in a harsh whisper, reaching for him, carefully picking him up. The limp body was near frozen and filthy, laying limp in Clef's hand. "Please be okay," he pleaded, and then he stuffed his phone in his pocket and tore down the zipper of his coat. As gently as he could, he tucked Allegro into his shirt, holding the pixie against his skin, hoping to God it provided a bit of warmth.

He didn't even know how he got down the tree like that, in the dark with only one hand, the other hand pressed to his chest protectively. He didn't even respond to his grandfather's inquiry about what he was doing outside, instead heading straight for the bathroom. He would make some story up later – for now, he had to save a tiny, precious life.

Throwing a few hand towels down to create a soft surface, Clef carefully took Allegro's limp body out from his shirt and laid him on the counter. He didn't know how to help a hypothermic person or animal or anything, but he vaguely recalled that it should be done slowly. So he blinked away the hot tears that were collecting in his eyes and began to rub Allegro's small limbs with his fingertips, urging warmth into him. And when the gray skin no longer felt like ice, he moved to the sink to run a warm bath.

He remembered Allegro saying that he couldn't fly if his wings were dirty. Clef pictured in his mind Allegro slipping out of the room to explore and encountering Tom. The cat gave chase, with Allegro eventually going up the chimney and Tom unable to follow. Grandpa opened the flue and Allegro got away, but by then his wings were filthy, leaving him unable to fly to safety or warmth. Clef could only imagine what would have happened if he hadn't come home when he did. If he had gone out to eat with his friends...

His throat felt tight as he removed the little sash and shirt from allegro and carefully eased him into the sink, resting him against the side of the sink so that his head didn't dip below the shallow water. Then he grabbed a cotton swab and squeezed a drop of soap onto it, and then gently – more gently than he had ever done anything in his life – he began to run the swab over Allegro's wing. He cleaned the parts he could reach, and then carefully turned Allegro's body so he could get the rest. He had to get a new swab a few times, Allegro covered in so much soot the cotton would come away black and filthy. But eventually, slowly, the smoky transparency of the wings began to come through.

Then Clef moved on to the rest of Allegro's body, cleaning off his arms and chest. He had been rubbing the cotton swab along his neck, just under his chin, in that spot Allegro really seemed to like, when the pixie's shining gray eyes cracked open. Relief spread through Clef, nearly bringing him to tears again, and he softly asked, "Are you okay?"

Allegro's mouth opened to a bare slit, took a breath, and then he muttered, "What do you think?"

Clef gave a somewhat pained smile, glad that the pixie was alive, but still wrought with worry. "I tried to be super careful with your wings. Are they okay?"

Slowly sitting up, every movement weak, seeming like it took every bit of whatever strength Allegro had left in him, he leaned forward and fluttered his wings. "They'll be fine," he said flatly.

It was silent for a beat, Clef watching Allegro while Allegro stared at the dirty water he sat in, wrapping his arms around his knees as if to curl into a protective ball. "I'm sorry," Clef said then. "I didn't even think about the cat. If I had remembered, I would have..." What? Continued to lock the door? Kept Allegro trapped in his room like a prisoner? "Well, I would have warned you, at least. Sorry."

Allegro's shoulders just shrugged, and then he quietly replied, "I'm used to being chased by things."

Probably, being so small, pixies were often a target for predators.

Clef pulled the stopper to drain the dirty water from the sink and re-filled it with clean water. He delivered another fresh and soapy cotton swab to Allegro, and stood by while the pixie finished washing himself. But Allegro's movements were so weak and so slow, clearly exhausted, that Clef continued to worry about him. What would happen if he got sick? It wasn't like he could be taken to a vet.

When he was finished, Allegro rinsed off and then climbed out of the sink, sitting on the counter as though standing would be too much to ask for. So Clef draped a hand towel over him, patted him down gently, and then wrapped the towel around him, bundling the pixie up. Allegro just took it, allowing himself to be handled, clinging weakly to the towel when Clef picked him up and cradled him to his chest.

Clef grabbed the doll clothes as well as he headed out towards his room. They were filthy, likely ruined, though he would try to wash them anyway. He would have to cut something else up, unfortunately.

In his room, Clef laid Allegro, towel and all, in his wine box bed, smiling when the pixie looked over at him with tired eyes. "Get some rest," Clef said in a gentle voice, helping to put Allegro at ease after his ordeal. And when Allegro nodded and snuggled deeper into the hand towel, Clef felt worlds better.

Satisfied at last that Allegro would be alright, Clef finally took his coat off, and then headed to the far back of the basement, beyond the washing machine and dryer, to where his grandfather's vast collection of tools and building supplies were. He found a piece of plywood, a hammer, and some tiny nails. He was no carpenter, by any means, but he had taken a shop class in high school, and was fairly confident he could wield a hammer, at the very least.

He set to work building a wall to turn the bookcase shelf into a tiny bedroom. He was able to find some small hinges, creating something of a door in the wall, though for the moment he wasn't sure how to make a latch or door knob, so left it as-is. It was basic, but it would do for the time being.

Before putting the little wall up, Clef found an emergency push-light and used some thick double-sided tape to stick it to the side of the bookcase, near the head of Allegro's bed. Allegro watched him with curious eyes from the bundled towel, but remained silent. And then when Clef finally lifted the wall he had built and began to wedge it behind the molding of the bookcase, Allegro finally asked, "What are you doing?"

"Trust me," was Clef's only response. Then he reached in through the created door, pushed a nail through the flimsy plywood until it stuck in, and then hammered it into place. A few more nails kept the makeshift wall firmly stuck, held fast. There was still a short ledge left because of the bookcase's thick molding, but that was perfect, like a tiny front lawn.

Clef nodded at his handiwork as Allegro stuck his head out of the door. "Is this... for me?"

"Yep," Clef replied, smile brightening. "It's your very own space. Watch." The he reached in again and pressed the push-light, turning it on, then again to turn it back off. "Just push this if you want light."

Allegro gave it a try, needing to put most of his weight into it, but it worked. Then he looked over at Clef, who smiled at him again, and then a moment later Allegro grabbed the little door and pulled it closed.

Clef chuckled softly to himself, and then went to the doll-clothes bins to dig something out. This time he went with a fuzzy, blue sweater – it would look like a dress on the pixie, but at least it would keep him a bit warmer. Laying the dirty, white shirt over it, he marked off where it would need to be cut, then with a sigh, reached for his scissors.

When it was done, he tapped the wall next to Allegro's door, saying, "I have clothes for you."

The door opened just enough for Allegro's hand to fit through, and Clef laughed softly as he handed him the sweater.

Clef was exhausted. He didn't have work or anything to do the following day, which usually meant he would stay up until three in the morning, dicking around on his computer and nibbling on crackers or whatever else he could find to snack on. Tonight, however, he was just too tired, the stress of the past couple hours had sapped any energy from him, and he was ready to just go to bed. Perhaps then he could wake up early and make some tiny pancakes. So he changed into his pajamas, brushed his teeth, and climbed into bed.

He played a few rounds of 'Rock Show', room lit only by the lamp beside his bed, and it didn't miss his notice that the high scores on each and every song, even at the hardest difficulty setting, were all Allegro's. They were scores that Clef could never hope to surpass, and he resigned himself to never seeing the new high score animation again.

He had just put his phone away and switched off the lamp, snuggling under his covers, when he felt the lightest of weights land on his blanket. "Allegro?" he questioned softly.

"You didn't refill the hot water bottle," Allegro's voice said from the darkness.

"Oh yeah..." It was still in the wine box, and would be too big to fit through the small door of Allegro's 'room'. Clef really didn't feel like taking the whole thing apart right then, especially since he had _just_ built it, so he just said "Can you go without it for tonight? I'll think of something tomorrow."

Allegro responded with, "Don't bother," and for a moment Clef thought the pixie was angry, until he felt something small and fuzzy crawl under his blanket and tuck itself against his neck. "I'll sleep here."

Clef's heart warmed, squeezing for reasons he didn't understand, even as he asked, "What if I roll over in my sleep and crush you?"

"I trust you."

And somehow, that simple phrase meant the world to Clef.

The night fell quiet, the tiny presence under his chin somehow a comfort to Clef. Like this, he could feel Allegro's body expand and contract ever so minutely with every breath the pixie took. In the darkness, he felt himself smile, which then turned into a yawn, causing Allegro to press tighter against him.

Clef began to drift off in the ensuing silence, was almost asleep, when suddenly Allegro said, "I'm not on vacation."

Surprise, surprise. "Oh yeah?" Clef replied.

"I... I got into trouble, so I ran away," Allegro admitted. "If I'm found, I'll be killed, but I don't want to die."

It made Clef insanely curious, and though he wasn't sure if it would anger the pixie or not, he dared to ask, "What did you do?"

"I stole from the queen."

"Oh." Honestly, it was fascinating to find out pixies had a queen, and Clef wondered if it were like a monarchy, or more like a queen bee who rules over a hive.

"The violin," Allegro said next. "It belonged to Queen Echo, but..." Then his voice went harsh. "But why should _she_ get to have it? Just because her feet curl more than anyone's. Just because she has the most mates. She doesn't even know how to play it! So I took it, but they caught me, so I ran away, and I can never go back. I don't know how far they'll search for me, though."

It explained why Allegro was so perturbed when he thought his forest was much closer to where he was now. Clef hoped it was far enough, and that the queen's court or whoever was chasing down Allegro gave up and turned back a continent ago.

More than anything, though, Clef was just happy that Allegro finally trusted him enough to tell him the truth. "Well," he started softly. "You can stay here for as long as you need to."

Silence filled the room, and for a moment Clef thought that would be that. But then Allegro's voice came one final time, whispered into the darkness.

"Thank you."


	7. Chapter 7

"What's that you're always drinking?"

Clef's hand paused, stopping the coffee cup's ascent towards his face. He looked down at the black substance, then back up at Allegro. "It's coffee," he answered. He had held off on letting the pixie have coffee just yet; it was such a strong drink, and he was afraid it would hurt Allegro's stomach or make him sick or something. In the months Allegro had been staying with him, however, he had tried everything else Clef ate, and there hadn't been any problems yet. The pixie was stronger than Clef gave him credit for. "Want to try some?"

Allegro nodded, and Clef smiled.

Allegro's glass had water in it, and Clef didn't feel like getting up to find another one that may just end up dirty for no reason, so he instead dipped his finger into his coffee, collecting a drop that hung from his fingertip, and held it up to Allegro. Allegro leaned in and sniffed at it a bit, then licked the droplet from Clef's finger.

It sent a shiver down Clef's spine.

He thought the pixie wouldn't like it. Clef drank his coffee black – 'as bitter as my heart,' he always said – but Allegro nodded, licking his lips. "I like it."

"Would you like some for yourself?" Clef asked with a smile.

At Allegro's nod, Clef stood from his desk chair and went through his doll-prop box to fetch a miniature mug. It had the Himbeergeist football team's logo printed on the side of it, meant to be a collector's item, but it was almost perfectly doll-sized. Allegro wasn't likely to care what design colored the side of his new drinking vessel, anyway. So Clef headed to the kitchen, gave the little mug a rinse to clean out any dust, then filled it with fresh, hot coffee.

"Giving your dolls coffee now?" Grandma asked from the kitchen table behind him.

"It's for a picture," Clef answered, turning to her and smiling. The truth, however, was that Clef had hardly touched his dolls since Allegro came. He didn't really have as much time anymore; any free time at home was spent playing games or teaching the pixie to read. Whenever he got the urge to take pictures, Allegro became his mostly-willing model, though it was unfortunate that he wasn't allowed to post the photos anywhere online. More doll clothes had been sacrificed as well, and clothes for dolls closer to Allegro's size had been ordered, even though Clef didn't actually own any dolls that size. "Breakfast with Gustav."

When he got back to his room, he set the little mug next to Allegro. By the time he had sat back down in his chair, the mug was empty. "More," Allegro demanded, holding the mug out.

"Jesus, that was fast," Clef replied as he took the mug. He wasn't about to go all the way back upstairs, though, so he just dunked it into his own large mug of coffee, dabbing it dry with a tissue before he handed it to Allegro. And when that one was downed almost as quickly, Clef almost laughed. He was a bit surprised at just how much the pixie seemed to enjoy coffee, but he had learned in their time together that, more than just sweet things, Allegro liked things with strong flavors. And pasta – his love for pasta hadn't diminished. He had loved pepperoni when Clef brought home a pizza one night, eating so much he could hardly fly, and often skipped the vegetable part of salads, going straight for the dressing.

Actually, it wasn't much, but Allegro was starting to put on weight. It was pretty cute, though it did make Clef worry for the pixie's health; he wondered if that was hypocritical.

"Be careful of the caffeine," Clef said as he filled up the pixie's mug a third time.

"What's that?"

"It's... a chemical," Clef tried to explain. "Like... It's a stimulant, so it makes you feel more awake, but too much can make you too awake." When Allegro just stared at him with a brow creased in confusion, Clef just left it at, "You'll find out."

It wasn't long at all before the caffeine hit. Clef could tell it was starting to take effect when Allegro's wings started to flutter for no reason, slowly at first, then gradually faster and faster, stirring dust behind where he sat. It was almost surprising he didn't lift right off the desk.

"Umm... Are they supposed to do that?" Clef asked.

"Are what supposed to do what?"

"Your wings."

"What about them?"

"Never mind," Clef said, and then he stood up. "Let's go for a walk."

Allegro zipped over to his room for his coat.

It had taken a couple weeks to convince the pixie to go outside in the cold winter weather, but he needed to get some fresh air. So Clef had cut up more sweaters for layers, and a doll coat, which was huge on Allegro and was reportedly quite the hindrance to his flying, but that plus allowing the finicky pixie to snuggle up in Clef's pocket when they were out got him to leave the house.

Now the weather was ever so slowly starting to warm up. Fewer layers were required to satisfy Allegro, and he actually seemed to look forward to going out. They would go someplace where there wouldn't be any people – the beach, desolate in winter, or a park at just the right time between when the children left with the light of day and the teenagers arrived with the darkness – and then Allegro would be free to fly around and explore to his heart's content.

On that day, Clef took Allegro to a small wooded area near the house, letting him out of his pocket when they were hidden amongst the trees. Allegro immediately began flitting here and there, surging with caffeine-powered energy. He flew straight into a bush, and Clef laughed when the pixie came out a moment later with leaves in his hair and a twig stuck in the curl of his foot.

"Watch out for birds," Clef said, looking up to the treetops. He didn't see anything, but he had heard some twittering on the way there. It was still a bit too early for many birds to be around, not yet migrated home from their winter excursion to the south, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Allegro didn't respond, just continued to buzz around, looking at everything, so Clef pulled out his phone to play around while Allegro burned off some energy.

There was a group text from Lan, reading ' _I have some news you guys will want to hear, so be on time for practice, 'cause I'm not saying it twice_ ', and then immediately after, another saying ' _That's a lie. I'll say it as many times as I need to, and sometimes even when I don't need to_ '. It made Clef smile.

His little crush – or whatever it was that made his heart flutter and his stomach twist whenever Lan looked his way and gave him a grin – certainly hadn't gone away in the past few months, though it hadn't really grown any either. While Clef still wasn't ready to admit he may have real feelings for a guy – still wasn't quite ready to become someone different than he had always been, always known himself to be – he had kind of gotten used to the little pitter-patter of affection that ran through his chest whenever Lan was close. And if he had once or twice – or three times... – slipped away into the bathroom to stroke himself off while picturing Lan's lips on him, well... He wasn't about to admit that, either.

The loud cawing of a crow grabbed his attention, pulling him away from his phone. Most other birds were gone for the season, but crows stayed around all year. So long as people left their garbage outside, there would be crows, and the things were smart, carnivorous, and basically evil, so far as Clef was concerned. Allegro would be a fun toy and tasty snack all rolled into one if a crow got a hold of him.

His eyes searched the area, looking for Allegro, but didn't see any sign of the pixie. The bushes and trees were still, no movement to indicate life. He couldn't hear anything either. No rustling of leaves, no flapping of tiny wings. He called out, "Allegro?" and for a while no response came. Clef's heart sped up, searching frantically. "Allegro!?"

Allegro's head popped up from inside a hollow log, and Clef breathed a sigh of relief. Then Allegro flew over to where Clef stood, circling his head a few times while saying, "Don't worry so much. This place is similar to where I'm from, so I know what to look out for." He seemed happy – and wired – flying about so freely, spinning in the air and looping circles. "But it's a lot fucking colder!"

That made Clef smile before he replied, "Just... be careful."

Allegro began to fly backwards, floating away as he said, "I know a lot more about living in a forest than you do, human."

Clef chuckled lightly and watched as Allegro flew past the log he had been in before and orbited a tree a few times, spiraling up and up until he was lost among the tangle of branches above.

He still worried, even as he acknowledged that Allegro was right – there were probably far more dangerous things where Allegro came from, but he had managed to survive there.

So Clef turned back to his phone, closing the texting app and opening up 'Rock Show'. He still hadn't managed to beat any of Allegro's high scores, but he tried valiantly. His fingers were too cold to play properly – warmer weather didn't necessarily mean _warm_ – so he kept it on an easier difficulty setting, just dicking around to take up time and hear the songs. When he heard a crow caw again he tried to ignore it, reminding himself of what Allegro had said.

When the crow started _skwaking_ , making sounds Clef had never heard before, his head snapped up, searching, searching.

There was movement throughout the trees now, fast and frantic. Allegro was zipping through the bushes, skimming the ground to kick up dead leaves behind him, weaving in and out of the barest of space between trees. Giving chase behind him was one of the biggest crows Clef had ever seen, its black wings spread wide, keeping up with its nimble prey.

Flying in a loop that the crow couldn't quite make gave Allegro a little more of a lead, but the crow quickly caught up, its powerful wings carrying it easily through the air. Clef's heart leapt in his throat when the crow got close enough to grab the hem of Allegro's coat in its onyx beak, almost plucking the pixie right out of the air, but Allegro managed to twist around and kick the crow in the face, startling it.

"Allegro!" Clef called out, and watched with hopeful eyes as Allegro turned to the sound of his voice and took off straight for him. Clef stuffed his phone in his pocket and then held his arms out, open, ready to catch Allegro and protect him and punch a fucking bird if he needed to.

Instead of running into Clef's arms, Allegro flew straight down his coat, pressing himself between the wool of the coat and Clef's body. The crow swooped away, apparently not ballsy enough to take on a human. It landed in a tree somewhere nearby, cawing out its frustration at having lost a meal. Clef could only laugh at the creeping sensation of a pixie crawling around inside his coat, relieved that Allegro hadn't become bird food.

Allegro's head popped out from the collar of Clef's coat, saying, "I could have outrun it if I wasn't bogged down by all these clothes."

Clef put a hand over the lump where Allegro's body stayed snuggled in his coat, laughing as he simply replied, "Sure, sure."

The days Clef could spend free before going to band practice were his favorites. Not only did he feel like less of an outsider, being able to show up at the same time as everyone else, but if he showed up a little bit early he could park in the driveway, as if he actually belonged there, instead of in the street, like the eternal visitor he was. And it was nice being able to wear something other than red and khaki – something like all-black clothes, multiple belts, and studded wrist cuffs. He felt like even less of an outsider when he got to look like the other guys.

Gaku was the last to arrive, following Lan to the music room and throwing a wave at Clef and Cade, who had been playing around on their guitars, taking turns doing one line each of a song, going faster and faster to see who would mess up first. Clef never did find out what Lindsay had against Cade, why she insisted he was dragging them down. He had heard from Lan – in late-night phone conversations that had Clef aching for... something – that they had fought about it for weeks until he finally told her for good to drop it. Clef honestly couldn't picture Lan being so strict, and he wondered if the issue was enough to break the inseparable couple up, but it must have worked. There hadn't been any more canceled practices at least.

"So?" Cade said after Gaku had taken a seat behind his drums, spun around once, and then smiled. "What is this news we want to hear?"

Lan sat in the chair at his computer desk and looked at each of them, trying very hard to hold back a grin, ultimately failing. "We got a gig."

Smiles broke out around the room. "That's awesome!" Clef cheered, a quick hit of excitement coursing through him.

"Where at?" Cade asked, looking stunned. "It's not at some kid's birthday party, is it?"

"Nope," Lan answered. "Have you heard of The Virgin Cherry's annual rock fest?"

"Of course," Cade replied, one bushy brow raised. The Virgin Cherry was a super popular music house on the other side of the city. Everyone in the local rock scene knew of the place, and knew of the exclusive festival they held every year. Only four bands were allowed to perform at the show, and the place ended up _packed_ every year with music fans who knew it was going to be a blast. Playing there was an honor, and a great way to get some exposure. "But I already called them weeks ago, and they said they were full."

"Yep, and they're full of us," Lan said with a grin. "I sent them our demo tape months ago, and they liked it. I'm only mentioning it _now_ because I just received the confirmation and paperwork this morning." And then his smile softened. "It's not super huge, I know. It's not even at the provincial level, but... It's something. Something real. We'll get to play our songs for a real audience."

"It's awesome," Clef repeated gently. To have gotten them in was amazing; Lan had absolutely come through for them, and it made Clef's heart pound hard.

Lan nodded. "So, you guys in?"

"Fuck, yeah!" Cade said.

"Obviously," Clef answered, smile broadening.

Gaku gave a thumbs-up.

So with excited voices accompanied by animated hands, they decided which songs they would play for their first performance in years. They would do their best song, of course, upbeat and fast, to get the audience moving. Then maybe something a bit slower, to show off their range while moving hearts. Then they would finish with something that would pound its way into the audience's very soul, never letting a single person there forget Curse of ROM.

When their songs were chosen, they threw themselves into practice with an enthusiasm that Clef hadn't realized had been missing for a while. It was like there was new purpose to their playing – or new hope. They played until their fingers were tired, until Cade's stomach growled ferociously, and then they kept on playing, never wanting to stop.

Clef felt drunk when he finally went home, happy and excited, humming as he went in the side door. His grandparents sat at the kitchen table, one on each side like guardians of the donut box in between them. Clef planted his hands on the counter, grinning at them as he said, "My band got a gig."

"A what?" Grandpa asked.

"A gig," Clef replied. Though he had been in the band for years, wanted to make music his life, his family still didn't really know anything about any of it. When he was in a good mood, he wrote it off as simply them being old. "At a local rock festival. A few different bands will be playing, including us."

"That's great," Grandma said, smiling pleasant. She seemed happy for his obvious excitement, but not really understanding of just how much this meant to him, and that was expected.

"Where's it going to be?" Grandpa asked.

"At a club called The Virgin Cherry, down on route four," Clef answered. Then his smile brightened. "You guys should come." As if that would ever happen.

His grandfather waved a hand dismissively, though he smiled his jowly smile. Grandma just laughed, saying, "Sure, I can go do some bang-heading."

Clef gave a chuckle. "Well, it's in three weeks, so the guys and I will be stepping up our practice time by a lot." Hopefully Allegro didn't throw a fit over it.

"Can you get the day off of work?" Grandpa asked next.

"I hope so," Clef said. If it came down to it, though, he was absolutely willing to quit his piddly little job over this. If they didn't give him the time off, he would just take his cashiering skills to Ball Mart. "Shouldn't be a problem." Then he picked up his guitar case and headed for his room.

"Good luck," Grandma called as he went by.

Clef waved a "Thanks" as he disappeared down the stairs. In the very least, maybe he had given them something to talk to each other about, and he had managed to resist the lure of donuts at the same time.

Once Allegro had gotten over his fear and anger at his situation and status as a fugitive, he calmed down quite a bit and had stopped greeting Clef with shouts and violence. Having his own little room had helped immensely, able to sit in there and play his violin without being detected, or practice his reading, and Clef could keep the door locked – keep kids and cats out – without Allegro feeling trapped, since this was his space now. Having his own light meant Clef could turn the room light off, so he wasn't getting hounded by his grandfather about wasting electricity. Things had begun to settle down for the both of them.

Clef called a greeting to the pixie as he opened the door and turned on the light, only to find Allegro flying in circles in the middle of the room. "Okay, no more coffee for you," he said as he set his guitar case in its usual spot.

"You're later than usual," Allegro said in reply.

"Yeah, my band got-" He stopped. Allegro definitely wouldn't know any of the lingo. "It turns out, my band will be performing at a show in a few weeks. Many people will come watch us, so we want to be perfect, so we'll be practicing more until then."

Allegro stopped his mindless track through the air, looking at Clef with a concerned brow. "That's something you want? To play for other people?"

"Well, yeah," Clef answered. "I think a lot, maybe even most musicians want other people to hear their music."

"Why?"

Clef shrugged, and then began pulling off his coat as he said, "Different reasons. Some like the attention, some have a story to tell through their music, some just for fun. For me... I guess I just like sharing the things I love. That's why I post my doll pictures online; I want to show other people this thing that means a lot to me, and it's nice to get comments and feedback from the people who see my pictures." He sat in his desk chair, smiled, and shrugged again. "I like playing music with my friends even if it's just us there to hear it, but it's more exciting if more people hear it and enjoy it."

Allegro nodded like he understood, though Clef wondered if he really did. It wasn't like the pixie had ever done a violin performance for others. He seemed to have been pretty solitary even before running away, and didn't seem like the type who would care if anyone heard his music or not, which was almost a shame, since he played so beautifully.

Finally, Allegro asked, "Are you excited about performing?"

"Yeah," Clef said with a smile. "But I'm also nervous."

"Why?"

It made Clef chuckle. Allegro's constant curiosity was charming. "Many people will be there, watching. If I make a mistake, everyone will see and it'll be embarrassing." Though he imagined the worst, being booed right off the stage if he slipped up even once, his experience said differently. The typical rocker may look dark and intimidating, with their propensity for black and leather and chains, but in reality, they tended to be pretty chill. Almost absent-mindedly, he added, "It'll be all rock fans, though, so maybe it would be fine."

Allegro's brow creased further, looking confused and somewhat adorable. "Fans of... rocks?"

Clef laughed out loud. "No, rock _music_." And when Allegro just looked at him like he had said there were different kinds of green, he asked, "Haven't you noticed there are different styles of music?"

"Music is music," Allegro replied, sounding as if he were questioning everything he thought he knew.

"There are different types of music," Clef explained. "Rock is one, but there's also rap and country and classical and so on. They all sound different. That's where the 'rock' in 'Rock Show' comes from."

"I thought it was because one of the characters is a giant rock."

"Actually, he's a mountain."

"A what?"

Clef added mountains to the mental list of things he wanted to show Allegro some day, right next to schools and grocery stores. For now, he dug his phone out of his pocket and fired their game up for an example. "You've played all the songs in this game, so surely you've heard different styles, even if you didn't recognize them." He set the phone on the desk and Allegro floated over to sit next to it. "Notice how this band has lots of electronic-sounding instruments and the singer sounds really cheerful?" he said as he pulled up one band's song list. "We call that 'pop' music." Then he switched to another band. "This one has a different tone and uses a banjo; that's called 'bluegrass' music."

Allegro's eyes were wide and shining. Then he looked up at Clef. "And your music?"

"We play rock," Clef answered with a smile. "Gaku says if we were in Japan, we would probably be considered visual kei, but we don't wear costumes or anything."

"Costumes?" Allegro looked like he had just found out his whole life was a lie, and it almost had Clef laughing again.

"Some bands wear crazy clothes when they perform."

"Does it make the music better?"

"No," Clef said, laughing lightly. "Some people just want to do a full-package performance, music and visuals." Then his smile slowly fell. "Unfortunately, in the human world, a person's appearance can have a lot to do with how successful they are in the music business. Someone could create beautiful music, but nobody will listen to them because they're unattractive. Likewise, someone could be only average with music, but as long as they're nice to look at, they can become famous."

Allegro sat still, thoughtful for a moment, then finally concluded, "That's stupid. Music should just be about music."

"Yep," Clef agreed. "My band is pretty lucky, since our lead singer is hot, and the others are pretty good-looking too. I'm the only unattractive one, but the bassist is always in the background anyways, so nobody notices."

For a long time, Allegro simply stared at Clef as if searching for something, though Clef couldn't even begin to imagine what. Eventually, though, Allegro nodded, saying, "All right, I'll help you."

"You'll what?"

"I'll help you," Allegro repeated. "Show me what you've got and I'll critique you."

Clef's face warmed. He couldn't show his flaws to Allegro; it would scare the pixie away. And it wasn't like he needed to be critiqued. He knew what his flaws were – especially the big, jiggly one around his waist.

But then again, perhaps another perspective would be a good thing. Perhaps Allegro could see something in him that Clef couldn't see in himself, something worth focusing on and playing up, or something. So he grabbed the back of his t-shirt, hesitated, and then pulled the shirt over his head. He shivered, though probably more from baring himself to Allegro's watchful eyes than because of the cold.

The room fell silent; Clef waited for Allegro to inform him that he was a fat, worthless pig, and was best off just staying in the background and letting the other guys shine.

And then...

"What are you doing?"

Clef looked to Allegro, trying and mostly failing to meet his gaze. "What do you mean, what am I doing? I'm showing you what I've got. I know I'm not much to look at, but-"

"I meant your music!"

Face burning, Clef held his t-shirt in front of himself, hiding. "We were talking about appearances! Don't just change the topic without saying anything!" He pulled the t-shirt back on, and when he looked back to Allegro, he found the pixie scowling.

"Humans are stupid."

"Yeah, yeah. So what, you want to hear me play? But you've heard me before."

Allegro shook his head, and then took to the air again, hovering in front of Clef's face. "Not just you. I'll watch your whole band and coach you." Then he put his hands on his hips. "I'm pretty good with music, so it could be helpful."

'Pretty good' was an understatement. Clef liked the idea, but... "What, do you want me to introduce you to the guys or something?"

"No, of course not," Allegro replied. "Then I would have to kill them."

"Please don't kill my band."

"You can take me with you, in _secret_. I'll watch, and then tell you what I think."

Clef couldn't help a smile. "Oh? You'll be my own little opera house ghost."

"What?"

Even as he laughed a "Never mind," something in Clef's heart warmed.


	8. Chapter 8

Clef really liked the idea of having Allegro coach him and the band. He wasn't against receiving solicited constructive critique, dearly wanting to be the best musician he could be. So he took Allegro up on the offer, thanked him in advance, and together figured out how they would smuggle the pixie into Lan's house.

So he left his bass at home while at work the next day, giving him an excuse to stop home on the way to practice. Allegro hid out under his coat as Clef was let into Lan's place, and he couldn’t help a smile at feeling the tiny body press against him as he moved.

"I think there might be a crack forming in my bass," Clef said after he had opened the case. "Right here." He pointed to a random spot on the instrument. "Do you guys see anything?"

As expected, each of the others moved in, taking turns inspecting the heavy bass, looking for the purported crack. Clef stepped back, letting them manhandle his instrument. He unzipped his coat casually, and then held it ever so slightly open, not even turning his head when Allegro flew out and headed towards some unseen corner.

"I don't see anything," Lan reported, peering closely at the spot Clef had touched.

"Me either, man," Cade chimed in.

"Me either," Gaku echoed.

Cade smacked him on the shoulder. "You can't see anything anyway!" he said with a laugh. "Get a haircut!"

Clef just smiled, slipping his coat off completely. "Oh, good," he replied as he took the bass from Lan. "I always get so paranoid about the finish cracking in the winter."

"Nope, he's as beautiful as ever," Lan said with a smile that made Clef's heart and dick throb.

Then practice began, rockin' hard with everything they had, not holding back or goofing off at all despite it being only practice. They didn't have time to play around; they had to burn the muscle memory back into their hands and souls after two long years without a live performance. Clef kept an eye out as he played, and finally he spotted Allegro hiding in the open housing of the grand piano, his gray skin and the dark clothing he had worn blending into the shadows well. As grateful as Clef was for the pixie's help, he found he was also a bit nervous, wondering what Allegro thought of them, what he would say. Somehow, he found himself wanting to impress the pixie.

They were smiling and sweating when they called it quits, going over their thoughts and impressions as they packed up their things. A glance to the grand piano showed Allegro was gone, but when Clef went for his coat he saw a tell-tale lock of hair hanging partly out of the pocket. He swung his coat on as carefully as possible before picking up his guitar case.

"So... Granny Smith's?" Cade questioned, looking to Clef with his arms spread in invitation. Clef just gave an apologetic smile, and Cade's framed eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Sorry," Clef said, as usual. "I have things to do."

"Sure, sure."

"I live with old people," Clef asserted in defense. "I need to take care of them." Which was mostly bullshit; they took care of him as much as he took care of them.

If it occurred to Cade that this need to take care of them only seemed to become such a pressing issue in the past three months, he didn't mention it. Instead, he just turned to the others and asked "How about you guys?"

Gaku just gave a thumbs-up, but Lan said, "You guys go ahead; I'll meet you there. I need to talk to Clef for a second."

Clef's heart immediately began beating out of control, nerves lighting on fire. He fought to keep his hand from shaking as he waved a goodbye to Cade and Gaku, while every section of his brain lit up, trying to anticipate just what Lan could possibly have to say to him. His mind raced – perhaps it was about Cade's playing; perhaps it was an update on Lindsay. Maybe Lan had spotted a certain little pixie, and Clef would have to beg on his knees for Allegro not to kill him, or maybe Lan was going to tell him that it would be in the band's best interest if they found a different bassist, but thanks for everything these past four years. Or maybe Lan was going to tell him he had been looking at him differently lately...

His heart stopped when he heard the door upstairs click shut, leaving him and Lan _mostly_ alone.

"So, what's up?" Lan asked, straightforward and confident, as always.

Clef approached the conversation with far more caution. "What do you mean?"

"You know. You used to go out to eat with us all the time, and then suddenly you stopped. What happened? Are you avoiding us?"

"N-No," Clef stammered. "Just... You know... My grandparents-"

"Your grandparents are the spryest old folks I've ever met. There couldn't possibly be that many things you need to do for them."

Clef's mouth clamped shut. He wished so badly that he could tell Lan about Allegro; he wished he could tell all of his band mates all about the mysterious, annoying, and amazing pixie he had found. He would introduce them and Allegro could coach them openly, and then afterwards they could all go out for dinner at Granny Smith's together. But he couldn't. He had promised Allegro he wouldn't tell anyone about him, and while Clef may be a huge liar, he didn't break his promises. He had _some_ integrity, at least.

"I've just... been busy," he answered at last. Lame.

"Is it because I'm such a messy eater?" Lan asked next, endearingly sincere. "Am I embarrassing?"

Clef almost cracked a smile – would have if his nerves weren't so shot. "No."

"Do you actually have a secret girlfriend?"

"Of course not," Clef snorted, looking down towards a random spot on the carpet. Lan should know as well as anyone that nobody was interested in dating him.

"Well... How about a secret boyfriend?"

Clef's head snapped up fast, eyes wide, heart squeezing hard and painful. Fear ran through him, dark wildfire that he wanted to flee from. Had Lan somehow seen his thoughts? Did he know about the lewd images Clef had about him? Was he disgusted?

That fear had Clef snapping, "What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," Lan answered, briefly raising his hands defensively. "Nothing. I was just curious, since I've never known you to have a girlfriend or express interest in any girls in the whole time I've known you, that's all."

"That's because I'm fat and ugly, not because I'm gay!" He didn't mean to yell, but Lan had hit a little too close to home.

The room fell cold and silent for a moment, their gazes locked. For a second, Lan's eyes went impassive, trying to hide any emotion, but then his brows drew together, something pained in his expression as his eyes pulled away. "Sorry," he said quietly. "I was... just curious." Then his voice dropped to a whisper, barely audible as he added, "Or maybe wishful thinking." Clef may not have heard it if he weren't so used to listening to a tiny voice by now.

Clef opened his mouth, wanting to say... something. Wanting to ask what Lan meant, wanting to apologize himself for snapping. He didn't get a chance, though. Before he could even formulate a single word, Lan looked back at him, a smile that somehow made Clef's heart break on his face. "You're not ugly, like, at all," he said. "You're actually really good looking. Yes, you've got a little extra weight, but it doesn't look bad. It's manly, and it suits you." He raised a hand to stop Clef's incoming protest. "On top of that, you're very charming. You could easily get a girlfriend if you went out and met some new people."

This time Clef looked away, voice going quiet. "No girl would want a loser who plays with dolls."

Lan's smile turned up a notch. "Someday, you'll meet someone who likes you for you." Except the only one who liked Clef for himself was Lan, but it was the wrong kind of 'like' – or, no, it was the right kind of 'like', because they were _friends_. Then Lan went on, saying, "Look, there's going to be a party after the festival and there will be plenty of girls there. Maybe you'll meet someone there."

"Sure," Clef replied, not bothering to hide just how unlikely he found that idea.

"You never know."

But Clef did know. He certainly knew he couldn’t even remember the last time someone had been truly interested in him, at least. He knew it had been years since he had gone out with anyone; half a decade or more since he'd had sex with another human being. It was true he never really went out and met people, but it wasn't like anyone ever gave him a flirty smile or showed any signs of interest in his daily life. He wasn't interested in the type of girl who hung out at bars, hoping to score with anyone for a quick ego boost, and though there were some pretty cute girls in his local doll group... Well, he never found himself really interested in them, either.

Lan hadn't exactly been wrong when he said he had never known Clef to be interested in any girls. But then, maybe Clef just hadn't met the right girl. Maybe that was all.

Clef couldn't even remember how the conversation ended. Some kind of placating agreement, and then he was back in his car, helping a pixie out of his pocket.

Allegro shook his hair out of his face and sat in the passenger seat, copying Clef's posture. Clef had laughed out loud when the pixie first did it, on the way there. Allegro was so small against the seat, looking for all the world like a doll pretending to be human.

"So, what did you think?" Clef asked as he pulled out of Lan's street.

"I think that yellow-haired one wants to mate with you."

If he hadn't been driving, Clef may have flailed wildly; for now he just sputtered stupidly, eyes wide and cheeks burning. " _No_. No way. Lan has a girlfriend."

"So?" Allegro questioned. Clef didn't look away from the road to look at him, but he imagined Allegro's tiny eyebrow raised in that way that showed he was skeptical, or thinking that humans – Clef in particular – were stupid. "Didn't you say before that sometimes humans like all genders?"

"Not Lan," Clef replied. "Even if he were bi or something, he's not the type to hide it." Probably. "He would have mentioned it by now." Clef's heart squeezed, daring to wish, wanting to squash that wish. "And it doesn't matter anyway. He _has_ a girlfriend. Even if he did like guys, he's taken. It's moot."

"Moot?"

"It means that point doesn't matter," Clef gave as a half-hearted explanation as he pulled into a McDurian drive-through. The whole outside of the place stank, but their food was good and cheap, so it would do for a quick and easy dinner. "What did you think about the music?"

"That was 'rock' music?" Allegro asked in confirmation.

"Yeah."

There was a moment of thoughtful silence, and then Allegro asked "Does rock music usually use two guitars?"

Clef nodded with an affirmative sound. "Yeah, it's pretty common. It gives the music a fuller sound, with each filling in for the other."

He looked down to see Allegro put a hand to his chin thoughtfully, looking way too cute for someone so serious. Clef smiled and turned to stare at the menu beside his window, considering what to get while the car fell into silence again. He had just made a decision and pulled forward towards the ordering speaker when Allegro finally said "The guy with light-brown hair-"

"Thank you."

"There's something wrong with his playing."

A feeling of dread came over Clef, like he had done something wrong. Like guilt. It rendered him quiet and he thought about how Lindsay may have been right after all. Maybe it was just because Lan and Clef were close to Cade and used to his playing that they didn't notice anything off. He might owe Lindsay an apology, though that would require letting on that he had thought she was being a bitch about it, so perhaps not.

The drive-through speaker crackled loud, the cashier asking for Clef's order, and Allegro flew out of his seat, zipping around the car as if looking for a way out, like a fly bumbling against a window an inch away from where it was cracked open.

"Calm down," Clef said. "It's just a human and she can't see you. It's like a phone."

Allegro stopped flying around like he had been electrocuted, but his body was stiff as he floated back down to the seat, casting a suspicious eye as he asked "You're sure she can't see me?"

"Fairly sure, for now at least. You may want to hide when we go to the window, though." He managed to keep his amusement to a grin, instead of laughing outright. "What do you want to eat?"

"Coffee."

"It is way too late for coffee. You'll be up all night, and I don't feel like dealing with you." And when Allegro only scowled, Clef turned and rolled down his window, leaning out to place his order of a large-sized deluxe hamburger combo meal and two apple pies. Allegro hid behind his seat while Clef pulled up to the window and paid, receiving the bag that filled his car with the aroma of grease and delicious garbage. Then they parked near the back of the parking lot and dug in. It was the closest they could get to eating out together.

"So, what's wrong with Cade's playing?" Clef asked before he stuffed as much burger as he could into his mouth.

Allegro bit into his single french fry, half his size, and chewed thoughtfully before finally answering, "I don't know. I can't really place it. His fingers move weird."

"Well, he is pretty good with his hands." Clef paused, and then added, "On guitar."

Allegro shook his head, but didn't elaborate. Eventually, he just said, "I'll have to watch more."

And he did. For a week and a half Clef continued to smuggle Allegro into practice so that the pixie could watch from the shadows of the grand piano. They had gotten it down to an art, Allegro staying in Clef's coat pocket and crawling out unnoticed while the band was distracted with their music. Afterwards, they would have dinner and Allegro would report his thoughts. He doled out small tips – Gaku needed better control of his sticks, Lan could sing just a bit higher to preserve his voice longer and be careful of his guitar work while singing, Clef didn't need to grip the bass's neck so tightly – and Clef passed them on through clever "I heard"s or innocent-seeming questions. "What would happen if...?" "How would it sound if...?" And he could hear the improvements. Even as practiced as they were, how well they knew their instruments and their songs, there would always be room to improve.

After a week and a half, Allegro finally had something to say about Cade.

Too bad he refused to say it until Clef gave him coffee.

"His fingers hesitate," Allegro said as he inhaled the deep scent of caffeine from his little mug. Then he took a drink, seeming to savor it before adding, "It looks like he's holding back, like his fingers want to play something even faster, even better, but he's stopping them."

It was a shock to hear that. Clef knew Cade was good, but to imagine he hadn't even reached full potential yet – and moreover, that their songs hadn't reached full potential yet, because Cade was pulling back for some reason – was... actually, a bit frustrating.

"Because of that," Allegro continued. "Sometimes he's actually slower than the rest of you, or misses parts, but he finds ways to make up for it."

"Why would he do that?" Clef asked, tapping a finger on his desk in thoughtful irritation.

Allegro just looked at him, wings ever so slowly starting to beat already, and then he held out his mug. Clef filled it, swearing it would be the last, and Allegro threw it back, drinking it all down before saying, "How should I know? He's your friend."

Clef flicked Allegro's mug, knocking it out of the pixie's hands, and then sat back in his chair. He wondered if Cade was nervous about the show, though he had never been shy in the past. Cade was as extroverted as they came, willing to talk to anyone, take whatever attention he could get, and loved trying to make people – girls, mostly – laugh with his stupid jokes. He wasn't really the type to get nervous about performing, but then, it had been a while since they had last been on stage. Maybe even super showman Cadence Wagner got concerned that they may be a bit out of practice.

At the next practice, Clef decided he wanted to hear it for himself, see if he could figure out just what was going on. He played through their first round of songs, then at the start of the second, he stopped, raising his hand as if in surrender. "I smashed my thumb in the register at work," he lied – though it wasn't like he wasn't constantly banging his hands on things, awkward as he was. "Mind if I sit this set out to give it a rest?"

Cade nodded, looking earnest. "That's a good idea. You'll need it to jack off later."

"Shut up, Cade." Though, honestly, Clef almost laughed at that one.

"It's fine," Lan said, smiling sincerely. "Just jump in whenever you're ready."

So Clef set his bass aside, rolled his shoulder and lamented the loss of the familiar weight, and then flexed his thumb a bit for show before sitting on the floor where he could watch his friends play.

For a while, he couldn't help but watch Lan. He was amazing when he sang, gorgeous and brilliant, shining with talent. Lan was twice as attractive when he performed – Clef was willing to admit that, at least, even as a guy. Somehow, just looking at Lan made Clef believe they would make it someday.

Then Clef forced his attention to Cade, listening intently. His playing sounded the same as usual, but perhaps that was the issue. He watched Cade's fingers, and he felt an inaudible gasp drop from him when he finally saw what Allegro had talked about. Cade would play his line, like usual, but his fingers would move over the strings of his guitar in places where sound didn't come out. If Clef closed his eyes, he could hear the notes Cade _wanted_ to play, could imagine where they would fit, squeezed between the currently laid-down notes for a fraction of a second that would give them such a robust sound if Cade could pull it off, and Clef was sure he could. His fingers made it to the right places, but he wouldn't go through with it – wouldn't pic at the strings to make the sound come.

Clef saw what Allegro had seen, but he didn't understand why Cade was hesitating like that, and he couldn't bring himself to call Cade out on it. With his brows drawn together in confusion and concern, he looked towards the grand piano and met Allegro's gaze.

The guys didn't bother asking Clef if he wanted to join them for after-practice dinner anymore. On one hand, it kind of hurt – it being his own fault notwithstanding – but on the other hand, he had come to really enjoy his rehash sessions with Allegro. That night, though, everyone just went home anyway.

Clef held open his coat pocket once he was settled in his car, but no pixies came out. With a "Hm?" and a creased brow, he carefully reached a hand into each pocket, but they were both empty. "Allegro?" He patted around his coat, even though logic told him if Allegro were hidden inside it anywhere, Clef would feel him. "Allegro?" he said again, looking around the car, checking under the seats and, for some reason, in the glove compartment. He climbed into the back seat and opened up the guitar case, hoping to see shining gray eyes glaring at him, but the only thing in there was his bass.

He went still. Panic began to set in. "Allegro!?" he called one more time, listening for the small voice that never came.

He scrambled out of his car, rushing back to the condo and pounding on the door. Lan answered with surprise and worry written on his face, asking, "What's up?" in a concerned voice.

"I lost... I lost a keychain," Clef said, trying not to sound as anxious as he felt. "It's very special to me. It was a present from my grandma. Do you mind if I look around for it?"

"No problem," Lan replied as he stepped back to let Clef in. "What does it look like? I'll help you look."

"It's... gray," Clef answered, though the 'keychain' would likely run if Lan were the one to find it. "And shaped like a fairy."

"All right," Lan said. Then he smiled. "We'll find it."

They searched the music room, Clef going straight to the grand piano and peeking inside, under, behind, nothing. "Allegro?" he whispered, grateful when Lan gave no indication of having heard. He looked where his coat and bass had been but found nothing there either. Every place the tiny pixie could possibly be came up empty, and Clef drew closer to tears with every failure.

"Did you find it?" Lan asked when Clef stood up after searching under Gaku's drum set.

"No," Clef answered, trying to keep his voice controlled. "Maybe I dropped it outside. I'm going to go out and check."

"Okay. I'll let you know if I find it here."

"Thanks," Clef said, and then he slipped outside. He called Allegro's name again and again, louder each time, but there was no response, no pixie, and Clef was lost for any idea of what to do. He didn't want to leave if Allegro was somehow stuck here, but it would be pointless to stay if Allegro was gone, though Clef had no idea where he could have went.

He was scared. The human world was too big for Allegro. How could Clef protect him if he couldn’t even find him? What would Clef do without him?

He took a few shuddering breaths, then went back into the condo. The look on his face must have said quite a lot, as Lan's expression went sympathetic as he confirmed, "Nothing?"

Clef shook his head, and then replied "Maybe I lost it at home." He hated to say it; he didn't want to give up, but there was nothing more he could do here. There was nowhere left to look.

"Well, I'll keep an eye out," Lan said. "If I find it, I'll let you know ASAP."

Clef attempted a smile, thanking Lan and wishing him a good night before he reluctantly retreated back to his car. He drove home at a sloth's pace, crawling along the road while searching the sky for any sign at all that Allegro was there, close by. But he didn't really even know where to look, the world so big, and he grew ill with worry. It was still cold out, and dark; how would Allegro ever find his way home?

When he got back to his own house, Clef searched around outside, calling Allegro's name and praying the pixie had somehow made it there on his own. He searched inside as well, though it wasn't likely that Allegro would have been able to get in the house on his own. He just needed to make sure. He even sought out Tom to make sure the cat wasn't chasing anything he shouldn't be, only marginally relieved when he found him lounging at the foot of Grandma's bed while she played on her computer. He picked the cat up, almost dreading the possibility of finding nothing left but a torn pixie wing under the fat feline's claws, but there was nothing. No sign of Allegro.

"Did you lose something?" Grandma asked as Clef dropped Tom back down to the bed.

"Yeah," he nearly choked out. "A- A keychain that Lan gave me."

"Oh?" She swiveled in her chair to look at him. "What does it look like?"

"It's gray," Clef replied, mindlessly holding his fingers up, about two inches apart, to demonstrate the size of a keychain that didn't even exist. "And shaped like a fairy."

"I haven't seen anything like that. Where did you lose it?"

"I don't know," Clef replied as he turned and left the room. He didn't have time to come up with a whole novel right then.

He checked his room, though the door was locked shut. Maybe Allegro crawled under the door; maybe Allegro was in bed, but he wasn't. He wasn't anywhere, and there was nothing Clef could do but sit and wait for the pixie to come home. And if he didn't, if Allegro had disappeared for good, Clef honestly didn't know what he would do. Allegro had become too much a part of his life for Clef to never be able to see him again without ever getting to say goodbye.

He paced around his room, trying to think, trying to figure out where Allegro could have gone. He had been _right there_ , in the piano, like he usually was. Maybe he went into someone else's coat by accident, or maybe he had gotten left behind at Lan's place. There was no way to tell and _nothing_ Clef could do to find out, and it was _frustrating_.

"Fuck," Clef hissed as he slammed his ass into the desk chair. He felt impotent, helpless and unable to do anything about it.

And what if, somehow, the other pixies had found him? What if the queen's court or whoever had tracked Allegro down _this far_ and killed him? No trial, no jury, just snuffed out a life as if it were inconsequential.

" _Fuck_."

Then Clef jumped out of his chair and stepped over to Allegro's room on the bookcase. He pulled open the little door and looked inside, seeing the violin and bow lying on Allegro's pillow, safe and sound. It was the first bit of real relief Clef had felt since he discovered the pixie was missing.

An hour passed, and then a little more time, and still neither any pixies nor any ideas came to Clef as he alternated between pacing back and forth in his room and sitting in his chair with his head bowed, hands buried into his hair. At some point he made toast, having missed his after-practice dinner with Allegro, but he couldn't bring himself to eat it. The thought of eating made him sick, his stomach twisted in knots with worry. The toast sat on his desk untouched, going stale.

He was so caught up in his concern that two hours had gone by before he realized he had forgotten his bass in the car, and he reluctantly left his cave of despair to go fetch it. When he had the heavy case in his hand, though, he stopped. The weight pulling at his arm was a comfort, familiar. He had wondered what he would do if he lost Allegro from his life, and in that moment, he knew.

He would make music.

It was what connected them, their first form of communication. As long as he had music, he could feel Allegro near him.

Instead of going back to his room, he went to the front porch, letting the cold night air prickle at his skin. Pulling his guitar from the case, he took a seat on the porch step and let his fingers slide over the bass, pulling at the strings, plucking out a slow, lonesome tune. It felt good.

A soft weight landed upon his shoulder, and Clef's fingers slowed, slowed, and then went still. Relief spread through him at last, and he gave a little sigh, expelling the last of his fear. Then he lifted his hand, drawing it toward his shoulder...

And _grabbed_ the little brat.

"Where were you?" he asked as he brought Allegro into his line of vision. He squeezed the pixie in his hand, wanting assurance that he was really there, wanting the security of Allegro by his side, wanting to convey just how vexing the sudden disappearance was. "I was worried _sick_."

Allegro stared at him with a creased brow. "Are you crying?"

"No, I'm not," Clef replied as he scrubbed his sleeve across his eyes.

The tiniest of sighs huffed from Allegro, but then he said, "I'm sorry."

Clef opened his hand, setting the pixie free. Allegro's wings began to flutter, keeping him in Clef's line of vision, and it was a comfort. "Don't just take off without saying anything," he admonished.

"I went to follow frames-guy," Allegro explained. "I didn't have a chance to tell you."

Emotions swirled through Clef – irritation, relief, gratitude – making him wonder how someone so small could cause so much turmoil in him. But knowing that Allegro was out running around in the cold for his sake like some kind of pixie godmother struck a chord in him. He let it all go, not wanting Allegro's hard work to go to waste. "So, what did you find out?" he asked as he brought his hands up, lightly cupped. It likely wouldn't provide much warmth, but Allegro snuggled his way inside anyway, seeking protection from the wind.

"Frames-guy-"

"Cade."

"Is _really_ good on the guitar when he plays by himself," Allegro said. "Probably better than yellow-guy." Clef didn't bother supplying a name this time; clearly Allegro was going to call them whatever he wanted. "He played your songs, but there was more sound. Every little space was filled with music. He can do more when he's alone than with the rest of you, but I can't see a reason why."

Clef's brows pulled together in thought. "There may not be a physical reason."

"Hm?"

"It might be mental," Clef explained. "In his mind. You said you think he's better than Lan?"

"Yeah," Allegro answered with a nod. "Probably."

"Well, Lan is our leader and kind of like our beacon. We tend to follow him. Maybe Cade is worried that if he goes all-out, he'll show Lan up."

"Show up?"

"Like... He doesn't want Lan to think he thinks he's better."

"But he is better."

Clef's lip pulled into a half-smile. Clearly pixies were far more logical than humans. "It's not so easy for us. We don't want our friends to feel bad, so sometimes it means pretending to be not as good as we really are, so another person can feel like they're really skilled."

Allegro crossed his arms over his chest. "Pixies show up, always. If we're better, we'll let everyone know."

Clef laughed. "Did you show them all up? Is that the real reason you're on the run?"

Eyes narrowing, Allegro said, "No," like it was very obvious Clef was wrong, not picking upon the joke, which only made Clef laugh again.

"Well, I guess I'll talk to Lan about it," Clef said as his smile slowly fell. Then his thumb moved of its own accord, mindlessly stroking just under Allegro's chin. His smile quirked back up ever so softly when Allegro leaned into the touch, his gray eyes sliding closed. "How did you find your way home?" Clef practically whispered.

"Home?" Allegro's eyes opened, and then he moved as if to stand up, prompting Clef to pull his hands away. Flitting up to hover in Clef's line of vision again, Allegro answered, "I followed your music." Then he flew to the headstock of Clef's bass, perching himself on the end with his back turned to Clef. It was silent for a moment, and then he looked over his shoulder to say, "Took you long enough to call for me."

And Clef just puffed a soft smile.

Clef was nervous about talking to Lan about Cade's playing. He felt like he was betraying not only Cade, but the whole band, going about it covertly instead of openly, but he wanted Lan to confirm for himself what Clef – and Allegro – heard before deciding what to do about it.

So after they had played their set through once, during which Clef could now more clearly hear the hesitation in Cade's fingers, Clef shook his hand like it was bothering him, and as expected, Lan asked, "Your thumb still hurting from yesterday?"

"Yeah," Clef answered. "Just a bit. Do you have any wrapping tape or anything?"

"I think so," Lan said. And though he tossed out a "Hold on a sec" as he set his guitar down to go look, Clef followed him up the stairs, into the bathroom where the medicine cabinet was. "I think I still have some from when I broke my toe last year."

Clef kicked the bathroom door shut, trapping the two of them in together, and Lan turned to him with wide, curious eyes and slightly pinked cheeks, and only then did it occur to Clef how the situation must have looked. His own cheeks went warm as he quickly said, "I need to ask you something about Cade."

Understanding dawned in Lan's gaze as he questioned, "Oh?"

"Yeah. Have you noticed anything off about his playing? Like he's hesitating?"

"I... haven't really noticed," Lan said, look going thoughtful. "But I haven't really been paying close attention. He has sounded a bit slow sometimes."

"Do you think you could drop a few chords here and there? I think he's trying to, like... stay behind you, so if you mess up..."

"He'll follow suit?"

"Yeah," Clef said with a nod. "Or in the very least, it'll be easier for you to hear what I'm talking about."

"All right, yeah," Lan replied with a nod of his own. Then he held up the wrapping tape. "We'll figure this out."

Clef smiled and took the tape, wrapping his thumb even though it didn't actually hurt, just to keep up appearances and not let on that they had actually been plotting behind their bandmate's back.

Then practice resumed. They got through the first half of ' _Following Shadows_ ', but soon after the bridge, Clef heard it. Lan dropped a chord, hand pausing, though his singing continued unbroken. As if cued, the sound from Cade's guitar also paused, blank for several notes extra before he picked up again. Clef glanced to Lan to see his brows drawn into a small scowl. When it played out twice more during ' _My Heart_ ', the scowl grew. He didn't look angry, per se, just confused and perhaps a bit disappointed.

When it happened during ' _Unspoken Winds_ ' – when Cade was supposed to play a short solo riff after Gaku's moment of triple-time drumming, but came into it late after Lan's missed chord – Lan's playing and singing both stopped. Clef followed suit, fingers slowing until he stopped playing, and then Gaku stopped as well, head tilted curiously. When Cade stopped and turned to look at them, Lan asked, "What are you doing?"

"What do you mean?"

"You missed your cue."

"That's because you dropped your chord," Cade said, voice going tense, defensive. "It threw me off."

"I'm not your cue," Lan replied evenly. "Gaku is. And you've been doing it all night, dropping chords or coming in slow. What's up?"

Cade's mouth clamped shut and his brown eyes went hard and lost behind his black frames, as if it hadn't occurred to him what he had been doing – as if it really had been subconscious. Then his eyes went sharp, glaring at Lan. "Well, I guess I'm just not as good as you."

The hurt that crossed Lan's eyes almost made Clef wish he hadn't said anything. It also pissed him off. "That's not true," he said in a low voice.

Cade's glare turned onto Clef. "I'm doing the best I can!"

"No, you're not!" Clef snapped back. "You're holding back, and you have been for a while!"

"No, I'm not!"

"You are! Maybe you don't realize it, but you are. You're capable of so much more, and you won't _do it_. Don't we deserve it, though? Don't we deserve your best!?"

"Clef," Lan said simply, siphoning the anger from him. "Calm down."

Cade tore his guitar from around his shoulders, holding it tightly around the neck as he stormed over to his stuff with a sneer on his lip. "This is such _bullshit_ ," he seethed as he packed the instrument away.

Lan's voice was calm as he asked "Cade, where are you going?"

" _Home_. You don't need me here."

"What about the festival?"

"Clearly you guys are better off without me!" Then Cade slammed his guitar case shut, grabbed it and his coat, and stomped up the stairs.

"Wait!" Lan called after him, leaning his own guitar against the wall as quickly as possible, to run after Cade, calling for him to wait once again.

Clef looked down. He wanted to bash his head against the wall, and he flinched when the door upstairs slammed shut. A glance at Gaku showed the drummer frowning, confused, and it just made Clef feel worse. He had ruined it for everyone with his uncontrollable temper. He should have left it to Lan, or perhaps he shouldn't have said anything at all.

When Lan came back into the music room, gaze down and brow creased, Clef's heart twisted. This was all his fault. "I'm sorry," Clef said. "I shouldn't have said anything."

"No." Lan shook his head once. "It doesn't do anyone any good if he's holding back. Especially himself." Then he picked up his guitar, slipped the strap over his shoulders, and ran his fingers over the strings in a gesture of comfort that Clef knew all too well.

"What are we going to do?"

"I'll talk to him," Lan replied. Then he went silent for a moment before continuing with, "If worse comes to worse, we'll do the show without him." He looked up then. "If you guys even want to, that is."

If they dropped out now, after all the confirmation and documentation had been submitted, after the venue had added their name to the advertisements and promotional materials, they would forfeit the right to participate in the fest ever again. Snuffing out opportunities was a bad idea if they wanted to make it big in the industry. So, with a solemn heart, Clef nodded. "Yeah, I still want to."

Gaku nodded twice, though his mouth remained a tight line.

They tried to resume practice, but the mood had been killed, excitement and enthusiasm replaced with awkwardness and worry. Lan didn't even feel like signing, so for a short while they just concentrated on instrumentals, but even that didn't last long, the sound decidedly empty. Eventually, they just called it a night and went home.

Allegro's arms were crossed over his tiny chest as they traversed the streets, and for a second Clef took a moment of glorious distraction to wonder why the pixie didn't sit on the dashboard so he could at least see out the window. Yet Allegro seemed content to stare ahead at the closed glove compartment as he asked, "What was that guy's problem?"

Clef sighed, reminded of the topic at hand again. "He probably felt attacked," he answered. "And it's all my fault. I should have kept my stupid mouth shut and let Lan handle it. He's better and dealing with people; I just get mad and throw tantrums."

It fell silent a bit, and then Allegro said, "I agree with you, though. Your band is good. I like your music, and I think you deserve his best playing."

Clef's lip just twitched in an ironic half-smile.

A lot of good that did them now.

It did even less good when Cade stopped coming to practice altogether. No matter how often Lan called or texted, there was no answer. Cade had shut them out, pissed and maybe rightfully so. Lan had even gone to Cade's house, only to be told by his mother that Cade wasn't interested in taking visitors, and no matter how much she liked Lan, she wasn't going to go against her son's wishes.

Clef tried contacting him too, texting multiple apologies and begging him to at least talk to Lan, or even Gaku, if he didn't want to speak with Clef himself. His most successful attempt was having his grandmother call from her phone, a number he wouldn't recognize and a voice he wouldn't immediately hang up on. Even that, though, resulted in nothing more than Grandma reporting, "He said to tell you to go fuck yourself."

In any other instance, he would have laughed at such a word falling from a little old lady, but at the time Clef just sighed and thanked her anyway for trying.

"Clef," his grandmother called as he started to head back to his room, and when he turned back to her, she gave him a reassuring smile. "It'll work out."

Clef stared a moment, still wracked with guilt, but then he forced a smile of his own. "Yeah. Thanks."

With a week left until the show, the three remaining members of the bad began working on altering the songs to accommodate their lost man. They figured out how to fill in the blanks, pushing Lan's fingers nearly to their limits. The songs took on deeper tones with Clef's bass taking over some lines, and what was formerly Cade's solo riff become a slightly extended drum solo.

Allegro helped as well, watching each practice carefully from his hiding spot and then reporting his thoughts to Clef, who passed them on to the others. "I understand now, what you said before," Allegro said one night as they drove home. "About two guitars making the music sound fuller."

Clef nodded, and then he sighed.


	9. Chapter 9

Getting the day off work was no problem, and was likely the only thing that went smoothly about the whole fest. Clef and Lan rode together, Lan picking Clef up early enough for them to get to the venue with plenty of time to spare, but Gaku went by himself, needing every square inch of his tiny car space to fit his drum set. Then Gaku got lost, but instead of calling them like a normal person, he just drove in circles until he found the place, forty-five minutes later. Half of their 'time to spare' was spent loitering outside The Virgin Cherry, hoping to spot Gaku's little Toyota flying around the corner so they could flag him down and help him carry his set inside.

The organizer gave them shit since they had signed on as a four-man band but showed up as a three. He expressed concern that their sound would be different from what they had submitted for entry, which Clef understood, though he dreaded the thought of getting kicked out. Lan and his charisma were able to assure the guy that they would still put on an awesome show, and the organizer agreed that it would be a waste to drop them at this point. He didn't seem like a bad guy, just very concerned about his show going off without a hitch.

But they got there, they got in, and they got set up. Their sound check went fine, with the organizer looking satisfied, and they all pitched in to move their equipment to the space they were assigned until it was time to go on.

And through it all, Clef had to be careful of the pixie in his pocket.

Allegro had demanded he get to go, insisting that with all the work he had done coaching them, he should at least get to watch the show. Clef said it was too dangerous, that he might get hurt, or someone might see him, or in the very least, he was very likely to get bored, since there would be a lot of waiting around before the show, and there certainly wouldn't be anything for him to do at the after party. Allegro had insisted anyway, and eventually, reluctantly, Clef agreed.

He kept his coat on much of the time, claiming he was chilly, and often slid his hand into the pocket to check if Allegro was still there. Each time he did, Allegro would grab and squeeze his finger to assure Clef he was still there and still okay, and it was a comfort. When the band ate the venue-supplied food, chatting with and getting to know the other performers, Clef would slip small pieces of sandwich or cheese into his pocket; not Allegro's favorite foods, but it would keep him from starving all night. Then, when the attendees began filing in, quickly filling the venue's open floor, Clef slipped into the bathroom and let the pixie out.

"Where are you going to be?" he asked, heart thudding heavy.

Allegro shrugged. "Around."

"Well, be careful. Don't let anyone see you."

Allegro gave him his 'no shit, idiot' look, but all he said was, "You're nervous."

"Yeah," Clef answered honestly.

Allegro watched him for a moment, and then said, "You'll be fine."

And Clef smiled. Allegro may be a grumpy brat, but his attempts at comforting always made Clef feel better, somehow.

Then Clef opened the bathroom door, and Allegro zipped out, flying off to who-knew-where.

Lindsay was with Lan when Clef reconvened with the band. Their hands were held fast together, fingers intertwined. Lan had a hand buried into Lindsay's dark blonde hair and they wore matching smiles, both of which turned to Clef when he approached. It made his heart ache, though he couldn't – _wouldn't_ – say why.

"You guys are going to rock tonight," Lindsay said, giving a smile of encouragement. "I know you will."

Of course she knew, since she was so great she could even tell that Cade was off when none of them could, despite not having any background in music at all. All he said, though, was "Thanks."

Then Lindsay leaned up on her toes to plant a kiss on Lan's cheek, saying, "I'm going to meet with my friends. We'll scream extra loud for you guys."

Lan's eyes twinkled fond at her as he said, "I'll meet you at the hotel for the after party."

"I'll be there," she smiled. Then with a final "Good luck!" to which Gaku gave a smile and Clef nodded, she headed off towards where the audience waited in anticipation, booze already flowing, quickly growing restless.

Lan looked to them, a new energy in his face that only glowed brighter when they heard the MC step onto the stage to a chorus of cheers. He tilted his head towards the backstage, grinning. "Shall we?"

They followed him, their fearless leader, but it felt like something was missing.

They were scheduled to go on third out of the four bands, a nice place right in the middle. On the monitors set up backstage, they watched the MC rile up the crowed. He was funny, had the audience laughing, and then the first band began their set. They were good, as expected of a band chosen by The Virgin Cherry. The audience was screaming, dancing, and getting rowdy already. Clef could feel the energy that filled the place like thick smoke, and it filled him with excitement, longing to play. He quickly grew restless, wanting his feet to be standing on the stage lit up onscreen.

That excitement swelled, blended with nerves until he was boiling over when the band finished their set, the MC coming out to keep the crowd warm and make announcements about the charity the night's proceeds would go to while the band rushed their gear off the stage and the second moved on. Once the second band was set up and introduced, the lead singer beginning to shout something out to the audience, a staff member came back to inform Lan that they were free to use the rehearsal room until it was their turn.

There was a rehearsal drum set in the soundproof room, which Gaku didn't seem super satisfied with, but they started a warm-up anyway, playing their altered songs. They sounded fine, but it wasn't the same. It wasn't them. The audience wouldn't notice, probably, but the missing piece glared obvious to Clef, as it likely did to Lan and Gaku as well. But they played on; there was nothing else they could do.

They played through one song while keeping an eye on the silent monitor in the room to make sure they didn't miss when it was time for them to head up, about ten minutes until show time, and then the door suddenly burst open, startling Clef and making Gaku drop a stick.

Cade stood there with his guitar case in hand and his glasses falling down his nose, panting as if he had run all the way there from his house.

Guilty as he still was, Clef let out a sigh of relief.

"Cade!" Lan called as he ran to their missing member. He sounded ecstatic, putting a hand to Cade's shoulder. "You made it."

"I'm sorry," Cade said, and there was a waiver to his voice. "You guys were right. I was holding back because you need to be the center of attention. I thought it would be best if Mr. Hottie Mcttractive-Face stood out the most, so we could get people's attention, but I don't want to do that anymore. I want to go all-out."

Lan beamed bright, glowing. "You had _better_ go all-out. We're a team; nobody should stand out more than anyone else." Then Lan turned to face all of them. "We all have to play without holding back, got it? No hesitation."

Gaku pumped a drum stick in the air while Clef gave a nod. His gaze met Cade's and they shared a grin; everything would be all right. Or, better than that – they would be awesome. When Cade ripped his guitar out of its case and they threw themselves into their final practice, with seven minutes left until they were faced with the real deal, they heard their music as it was supposed to be, full of sound, impossible notes, ready to take over the world.

Clef couldn't stop smiling.

The tension rose by huge leaps when the band on stage finished their final song. As that band began waving their thanks on the monitor, Clef and his band left the rehearsal room, setting their guitars nearby and each grabbing a piece of Gaku's drum set to get set up as quickly as possible. When the previous band ran off stage, the members carrying their own drummer's set, they cheered and congratulated them, offering high-fives to anyone with a free hand, even though they all knew they hadn't been able to hear a single note of the performance from the rehearsal room.

They set up quickly like they had done it a thousand times before, which was amazing, since set-up was the one thing they never did practice. The MC amused the crowd while they left Gaku to move his drums to where he liked, running to grab their guitars and do a quick check of their tuning, and then they gathered in the darkness for a quick huddle.

"We're going to rock this," Lan said when their heads were pressed together. "They're never going to forget us. Are you ready?"

They each nodded, hearts beating as one, and then they parted to take their places as the MC introduced them. And then the light came up to reveal them.

Clef's heart pounded hard as the audience cheered for them, but he kept his head bowed, as Cade and Gaku did. They kept still as Lan stepped forward to address the crowd. They didn't jump into it with aggression like other bands did, but instead used their fearless leader's good looks and charisma as part of their intro.

"Ladies," Lan said in a seductive voice, causing the girls in the house to scream. "Gentlemen," he said in the same voice – this one would be accompanied by a wink, just like in all their other performances – making the girls scream again, as well as a few guys. And then he yelled out their name. "We are Curse of _ROM_!"

They blasted into ' _Following Shadows_ ' to a crowd of screams. Everyone in the house began to move, dancing, pumping their fists, jumping to the music. The energy and excitement they gave off coursed through Clef, euphoric; it felt amazing.

Off to the side, near the middle of the audience, Clef spotted a puff of white hair next to a shiny, balding head. His grandparents had come. His heart warmed as he saw his grandmother bobbing to the music, clapping along. His grandfather stood still, but there was a gentle, proud smile on his face. Clef grinned wide and happy, adding a little more movement, a little more flair to his playing, for their sake.

Then his eyes moved up, searching the high ceiling. It was smokey and dim up there, but he saw movement. Flitting like a hummingbird, Allegro's small figure flew across Clef's line of vision as if purposely trying to make sure Clef saw him, giving his support from up high, and then he disappeared once more amongst the rafters.

Clef's heart filled to bursting.

When the music slowed and the lights dimmed for their second song, ' _My Heart, Against My Will_ ', the crowd lit up, the flickering flames of dozens of lighters beginning to wave. Some girls screamed a little when Lan's solemn voice came out, but for the most part, everyone just listened, captivated by the lonely tone. It was a song that Clef had written, a song of longing, of waiting for something, losing hope that it might ever come. Everyone had teased Clef when he introduced the song to them, saying it was his wish for a girlfriend, and he let them believe that, because it was better than admitting he wrote it while anxiously waiting for a doll he had ordered to arrive.

It probably meant many different things to many different people, though, and that was a good thing. It would engrave itself into people's hearts as they listened, and as long as it meant something to them, Clef was satisfied.

When the last notes rang out, the lights faded to near black, and then Gaku kicked up the pace, drumming out a steady beat as the lights came back up. "Thank you!" Lan said into the microphone, eliciting cheers and screams. It was time for the intros. "It's our first time playing The Virgin Cherry, and we can't thank you enough for having us." More cheers, more screams. "We are Curse of ROM, and here's who we are." Then Lan stepped back from the mic for a second, jamming on his guitar as they played their short intro song. When the audience began clapping along to the beat, he stepped back up. "On guitar, Cadence Wagner."

Cade rocked his solo as the spotlight landed on him, showing off what those fingers of his could do. The crowd screamed and Cade smiled and gave a little "Yeah!" that surely nobody not on stage right then would hear. His riff ended to loud cheers, and then he stepped up to his own mic. "On bass, Clefton Andante."

Clef dove into his solo, fingers pulling, slapping his bass's heavy strings. He loved the sound of his instrument, and he shone in his chance to show it off to so many people. He wanted them to love it too, and from the cheers he heard, he thought maybe they did, and it made him _so_ happy. He wondered what Allegro was thinking, wondered if the pixie was impressed, or proud. He wondered if Allegro was smiling.

When his solo ended, Clef leaned towards the microphone in front of him. "On drums, Gaku Onmaru."

Arms swinging and feet tapping, Gaku pounded out his solo, bass drum thumping like a heartbeat. His cymbals crashed and snare rapped, and sweat dripped form his chin with all the movement. The blond streaks dyed into his jet-black hair caught the stage lights, shining like sunlight. He bobbed up and down as he played, looking like he was having the time of his life.

When the last cymbal crash rippled away, Lan stepped back up to his mic. "Vocals and guitar, I am Landler Chanson." Then Lan busted out his own solo. It wasn't fast, like Cade's, but no less a show of skill. He charmed the crowd with his music, notes twinkling out of his guitar like stars. Tricky technique brought out a sound not often heard, surely making the audience's hearts flutter as Clef's did.

One last riff brought screams from the crowd. Lan smiled a sexy smile, and then the band ripped into their third and final song. ' _Unspoken Winds_ ' was a song written by Gaku, a song about the joy of finding friends who accepted him and his quirks. It was a fun song, proving that their music didn't have to be dark and brooding to _rock_ , and always left audiences smiling and happy.

By the end, even Clef was sweating, but he shared smiles with everyone as Lan yelled out a final, "Thank you!" And then the lights went dark. Then came the mad dash to get themselves and their stuff off stage, receiving whoops and cheers from the final band – the headlining act – who were waiting in the wings. Clef shared a high-five with their bassist with the hand not carrying a cymbal stand, wishing them luck and feeling like a real part of the industry. He felt so good, like nothing could go wrong tonight.

After he had set the stand down for Gaku to pack up as he liked, Clef found his guitar case, packing his bass away, giving the instrument a fond little pet before closing the lid. It had served him well once again; he was grateful to it. Then he stood up straight, only to immediately feel an arm wrap around his neck, pulling him close.

His forehead bumped against Lan's when he was pulled down into the two-person huddle. Their faces were close, sending Clef's heart out of control, only made worse when Lan's hand moved up to bury into Clef's flop of hair. "You were great," Lan said, meeting Clef's shocked gaze and smiling. "That was amazing."

Clef's cheeks went warm, and his cock jumped when his gaze flitted down to Lan's mouth. "Thanks," he replied as he pulled away, easily released from Lan's grip. "You were too." Then he smiled, even as he wanted to run away. "I saw my grandparents out there, so I'm going to go say hi to them before the next set starts."

Lan's lip pulled into a half-smile. "All right. Tell them I say hello."

Clef nodded, and then ran off to the doors that separated the backstage from the front. He found them where he had seen them from the stage, listening to the MC's rambling off of thanks to all of the night's sponsors. He greeted them with a smile, which was returned – Grandma's bright and Grandpa's almost amused. "I can't believe you actually came," Clef said with a laugh. They looked so out of place there, two old relics in a club full of drunken twenty-somethings.

"Well, you've been working so hard, we had to see what it was all about," Grandma said, her green eyes twinkling mischievously.

"I'm just here to make sure she doesn't get into trouble," Grandpa added.

Clef gave a laugh. "What did you think?" he asked.

"It was good," Grandpa answered, though it was dubious, given his open dislike of rock music.

"I had to turn my hearing aid down," was Grandma's reply. "Only a little, though. Your band looked very cool."

"Thanks."

"But your drum guy needs a haircut."

Clef laughed again. His grandmother hated anyone's hair being in their face, so Gaku's overgrown locks covering his eyes completely must have driven her crazy. "I'll be sure to let him know."

"I'll do it myself if I have to!"

"Okay, Gram," Clef said, still smiling. "Are you guys going to be here for much longer?"

"We may as well watch the next act," Grandpa answered. "But we'll probably go before it ends to beat the crowd."

The crowd was more likely to stay long after the fest had ended, dancing and drinking to whatever the DJ who took over after the live performances played, but Clef didn't mention that. He was happy his grandparents came, heart warmed that they had made the effort to see him perform – an effort his own father couldn't have been bothered with, apparently – but he also felt uneasy at them being here. People at clubs like this could get crazy, and his grandparents were old and frail. He would feel awful if something happened to them because of him, even if it were inadvertently.

So Clef said, "Good idea." Then he added "There's going to be a party for the performers after this, so I won't be home until late."

"We won't wait up for you," Grandma said.

Clef smiled again, but before he could say anything more, the stage lights went low, indicating the start of the next band's set. Clef started backing up, calling out a "Be careful!" and giving a wave, which was returned, before he headed back to the backstage area.

He had only just walked through the door when something zipped past his line of vision, too quick to see before it was gone, but Clef had a very good idea of what it was anyway. Instead of meeting back up with his band, he detoured, slipping out the back door. A mix of people from other bands were outside, smoking, drinking, and chatting around a single standing ashtray. None of Clef's band smoked, and he wasn't out here to chat with people anyway, so Clef just gave a wave, then stuffed his hands into his pockets and headed off casually down the street.

He walked a couple blocks, turned a corner into an alley, someplace private. A featherweight landed on his shoulder, and he smiled soft. "Well, how was it?"

"Satisfactory," Allegro answered, which made Clef laugh lightly. Then Allegro added, "Frames-guy showed up."

Clef nodded. "Just in time."

"He sounded good."

"Yeah." That was likely the most he would get out of the pixie, and it was enough. Allegro wasn't likely to lavish praise on Clef or anyone, yet Clef still felt _proud_. He had Allegro's approval; it was the best proof of their success he could ever imagine. So he smiled, but then he said, "My grandparents are at the venue. You should sneak into their car and go home with them."

The weight left his shoulder. "Why?" Allegro asked, offense in his voice.

"I'm going to a party after the show, and I'll be there all night. It'll be boring for you, at best, if you have to stay in my coat for hours. Or it could be dangerous."

Allegro actually looked _hurt_ , which confused Clef. Allegro was the one who didn't want people to know of his existence, who was hiding out from the world. It was obvious he shouldn't go somewhere crowded. Yet still, he asked, "Why can't I stay with you?"

"There will be a _lot_ of people," Clef answered. "Everyone will be drinking alcohol and getting crazy. If they see you, you could get hurt. I don't want anything bad to happen to you."

Allegro's tiny brows drew together as his mouth pulled into a deep frown. He was quiet for a long while, until finally he snapped, "I didn't want to go to a stupid, human party anyway!" Then he took off, flying through the night sky without a goodbye or a glance back.

Clef huffed a sigh, muttering "What is his problem?" to the empty air.


	10. Chapter 10

The party was, well, a party.

They did the rounds, together as a band as well as individually. Meeting other bands and event organizers was an important part of networking for burgeoning bands. When together, they tended to let Lan do most of the talking, but Clef could hold his own in a conversation when he needed or wanted to. He especially enjoyed meeting other bassists, sharing tips and information and love for their instrument.

And as they talked, they drank. Clef didn't necessarily like the taste of beer, but he got used to drinking it a long time ago, since drinking was so entwined with socializing. He preferred cocktails, but the one time he dared order a fuzzy navel and had the bartender slide him "One froo-froo drink for the lady," he didn't dare indulge again. The last thing he needed was some rock fest organizer dropping the band because they thought Clef was... _weird_ , or something. So, he learned to tolerate beer – at least it got him buzzed faster.

Clef's head was already swimming when he crashed on a couch with his friends. The Mandarin Inn's event lounge was nice, everything done up in shades of gold, making it all look very fancy. Lan had gotten a room in the hotel for them to crash in if they got too wasted – which they would – plus a room for himself and Lindsay to be alone in.

When Lindsay found them on the couch, laughing and drinking, she gave Lan a look somewhere between stern and amused. "Don't get too plastered," she admonished.

From the armchair he sat in, perpendicular to the couch, Lan lifted his hands casually, as if to say he would be fine, but that was the only response he gave. He was in his public persona now, calm and cool, no playful hanging on his friends, no wrestling on the floor. He was still friendly like this, but more guarded; his smiles were short, half-pulls on his lip. He never ate at events either, not willing to give away the sacred secret of how he always managed to get food everywhere.

There were a few other girls with Lindsay, friends of hers that neither Clef nor any of the other guys, besides Lan, had ever met, so far as he knew. Lindsay introduced them – Jen, Brittany, Carrie – and the guys were introduced in turn. The girl named Brittany looked over each of them, her light brown eyes seeming to be looking for something, and then she finally settled on Clef, lips pulling into a smile. "You looked cool on stage," she said as she wedged herself on the couch between Clef and Cade.

It caught Clef off guard. Was she flirting with him? But before he had a chance to formulate a response, Cade threw out, "For a bass player."

Brittany's eyes didn't leave Clef as she replied, "I like bass players."

"Nobody likes bass players," Cade joked.

Brittany glanced back over her shoulder at Cade a moment, silent, and then turned back to Clef. "I do."

Clef smiled, feeling good, head fuzzy. She was choosing him over Cade. He wondered if he should flirt back, try to hook up with her. She was really pretty, as expected of one of Lindsay's friends, with her long, light-brown hair hanging feminine over one shoulder. And she seemed into him, like maybe she wanted him, the very thought of which made Clef... Well, there wasn't much physical reaction – not in his pants at least – but he chalked that up to the booze making his body sluggish and floppy.

It may have also been the alcohol, but a small voice whispered in his mind, reminding him that she was probably just fooling around. He wasn't the type that girls really _liked_ , and it had nothing to do with him being a bass player. A pretty girl like her wasn't going to want some chubby loser who played with dolls. He wasn't cool; he wasn't suave. He wasn't at Lan's level.

Then Clef looked to Lan, and his heart ached. Lindsay was sitting in Lan's lap, legs hanging over the arm of the chair, like it was the most natural thing in the world, because it was. There was a casual comfort between them, in the way they easily touched each other, talking with their friends while pressed together like the matching set that they were.

Jealousy coursed through Clef, or longing. He wondered if it were possible to miss something he never had.

He reached for his glass of beer on the small table in front of the couch, throwing it back and finishing it off in several deep gulps. He let the alcohol burn through him, let it melt his cares away. The empty glass was dropped back onto the table harder than intended, and then Clef threw up two fingers to a passing waitress, indicating he wanted more. Then he sat back and tossed a smile to Brittany. "So, do you come here often?" he asked, and then immediately wanted to put his head through the table.

Brittany puffed a laugh, then answered, "No, this was the first rock fest I've ever been to, and I'm really glad I came."

She was brilliant, working around Clef's awkwardness to make a real conversation with the ease of someone who was actually used to talking with other people. If Lindsay was the fire to Lan's ice, perhaps Brittany could be the bee to Clef's bumble. Or something; he was too buzzed to think straight, so Clef smiled again. "I'm really glad you came, too."

Her return smile was gorgeous, and when the waitress stopped by to set down two tall glasses of dark, golden beer, Clef picked them both up. He passed one to Brittany and, smiling flirty at each other, they clinked their glasses together and downed the toxic liquid.

It didn't take long – maybe a couple hours, maybe less, he was in no state to judge time – before Clef went from pretty buzzed to more like plastered. He laughed louder, even at Cade's stupid jokes, and was able to meet Brittany's gaze far more often. And Brittany seemed pretty lit as well. She was all smiled and laughter, leaning against Clef and putting a hand on his thigh every time someone said anything even remotely funny. When her hand landed a little too high, dangerously close to Clef's crotch, his dick jumped, showing a reaction at last, urging him bolder.

Clef slid his arm around Brittany's shoulder, ready for the inevitable rejection, but she only stiffened for a second before pressing close against him. Encouraged, Clef reached with his other hand for his back pocket, pulling out his phone as he asked, "Hey, can I get your number?"

"Sure," she replied with a smile, then recited off some digits when Clef was on the new contacts screen.

"Cool," Clef said when it was done. "I'll call you so you can have my number too." And soon after he tapped to dial the number she had given, a song began to play from the purse at her side. Clef's stomach swirled with butterflies and alcohol when she pulled her own phone out, lit up with Clef's call. She had given him her real number.

She declined the call, but Clef was happy knowing his number was in her phone.

"Hey, you should play your 'Cock Show' game!" Cade called out, pointing at the phone still in Clef's hand. Cade's face was bright red, flushed with drunkenness. He had been blatantly hitting on Jen all night to no avail, the girl opting to pull over an armchair to sit in instead of sharing the couch. Gaku was having only slightly better luck with Carrie; at least she had sat by him, but she had given up trying to have a conversation with him when he only nodded and smiled, or gave single-word comments. It would take a girl with a lot more patience to penetrate Gaku's thirty-seven layers of shy and non-verbal communication.

Clef's brow twitched into a scowl and he stared hard at Cade. "I'm a little busy right now." Clearly Cade was trying to sabotage him.

Brittany gave a snort that could either be amused or dismissive – Clef really wasn't sure. "'Cock Show'?" she questioned. "Sounds gay."

Something hot flashed through Clef, making him scowl deeper, but he quickly stamped it out. "It's called ' _Rock_ Show'," he explained, forcing a half-smile onto his lips. "It's just a game I have on my phone that I play when I have time to kill."

"You play video games?" Her tone was unamused, like she was already attaching a bunch of stereotypes to him.

"Just this one, because it's a music game," Clef said in his defense, an attempt to ward off any neckbeard, piss-in-a-bottle images Brittany or anyone might be coming up with. "And only sometimes."

"More like all the time," Cade laughed. "He used to sit there, playing it at Granny Smith's when we'd go out to eat."

"That's only because waiting for your gluttonous ass to stop eating got boring!" Clef snapped.

Cade laughed again, like he thought it was all one big joke at Clef's expense, not seeming to get the irritation in Clef's voice. "Come on, man. I want to see how you do when you're drunk."

Clef glanced to Brittany, who had a look on her face that could either be a feint sneer or tiny smirk; it was hard to tell when everything was so fuzzy. She didn't meet his gaze, instead turning back to look at where Lindsay sat with Lan, chatting with Jen while Lan nibbled at her shoulder. Doubtless, those two would be slipping off to their private room before too long.

There was a smile on Brittany's face when she turned back to Clef, and she pressed against him again as she said, "Show me your game."

"Oh... Okay..." He wasn't sure what was going on, but he wasn't about to turn down a pretty girl whose hand was sliding along his thigh again, moving higher, an inch away from his resting dick. So he fired up the game, explaining that it was just tapping to the rhythm and babbling about how he just really liked the _music_ when the cute cartoon characters appeared on the screen. He pulled his arm from around Brittany's shoulder to show her how to play, picking a rock song that was similar to his band's music.

Playing was difficult when he was seeing two screens and seven of his own fingers. The usually stationary characters seemed to waver and dance with the way his head swam. Yet, somehow, he only missed a note when Brittany's hand finally found his cock, rubbing him through his jeans as if too drunk to care that they were surrounded by other people. Clef went tense and he heard her smirk – her own little game – but he managed to finish the song.

"How did you do?" Cade asked when Clef sat back and Brittany slid her hand away, playing innocent. When Clef turned the phone to him, Cade busted out laughing. "Dude, you suck when you're drunk! Your score is, like, _half_ of your high score!"

Clef turned the phone back to analyze the scores. Actually, his score wasn't that far off from what he usually got. The highest score wasn't his. Even drunk, though, he knew he couldn't say that. All he could say was, "I can't see shit right now."

Brittany pulled the phone out of his hand, and when Clef asked if she wanted to try, she gave a curt, "No," and then held the phone out at arm's length. She had switched to the camera app., and pressed her face to Clef's. "Say cheese."

God, Clef hated pictures of himself. But he forced a smile anyway, throwing up some random, fake gang sign as Brittany made a kissy-face and snapped a picture of them.

"I'm not really into video games," Brittany said next as she pulled the phone away, zoomed in on her own face, and smiled. "They're for little kids, and I have better things to do than play with children's toys." Then she closed the app. and shut the phone off, handing it back over to Clef. "Besides, I want to do something _so_ much more fun right now."

Clef was about to stupidly ask what she had in mind when Brittany turned more and pushed against him again, pressing her breasts into his side. She was pretty well-endowed, probably had a ton of guys wanting to get their hands on those tits, but here she was, rubbing them against _him_. Clef couldn't help a grin.

Then Brittany leaned up, sliding her chest along Clef's body until she could whisper in his ear, saying, "Alcohol makes me _really_ horny," before pulling back and giving him a succubus smile. "Do you have a room?"

"Yeah," Clef answered, cock twitching with interest. "The band has one."

"We're going to borrow it for a while." Then Brittany stood, taking Clef's hand and leading him to his feet. She took a step towards the lounge entryway, but then stopped to turn a hard look towards Cade. " _Don't_ follow us," she said sharply, then continued out the lounge, pulling Clef along behind.

She continued to press against Clef in the elevator, nearly grinding herself on his leg. She may have sucked him off right there if there weren't other people around, and Clef allowed himself to feel desirable for once. This girl wanted him _bad_ , and his brain was far too muddled with booze to remember that he was a chubby loser.

Brittany laughed as she slipped the 'Do Not Disturb' tag on the outer door handle after Clef had let them into the room, but when the door clicked shut and the bolt lock slid into place, the confidence Clef had felt moments before seemed to drain out of him. Alone with a girl in a dark and quiet hotel room, Clef felt uneasy. There was no sense of ease or comfort like what Lan had with Lindsay. There was no gentle familiarity, only an aggressive chick he barely knew throwing herself at him, wrapping her arms around him, kissing him hard.

But Clef went along with it, because he didn't know what else to do. His hands landed on her waist as he returned the kiss, tasting the beer on her breath that was surely no better than his own. When she lapped at his lip, he opened his mouth and slid his tongue along hers. As they licked and tasted each other, Brittany moved her hands to Clef's, covering them, then guiding them to her chest. Clef went along with that too. He cupped her breasts over her tight sweater, massaging and kneading them until she gasped against him and pressed closer.

Then she began to push, urging him toward the bed. Their kiss broke off only long enough for them to kick their shoes off and climb on top of the bed. Then their mouths met again, Brittany laying over Clef, descending on him. She moved until she was straddling his waist, her mini-skirt bunched up around her hips, teasing a glimpse of satiny, blue panties. Then, after sucking on his lip a moment, she sat up. She pulled her sweater over her head, revealing a matching blue bra, which she then reached behind her back to unfasten.

Clef smirked. Her tits looked nice, gravity making them sway with every movement, rosy nipples beaded hard. He felt no inclination to touch them, though; his dick didn't stir any further than its initial curiosity.

Brittany leaned down again, pressing her bare chest against Clef as she kissed him. Her body writhed, grinding outright now, rubbing her mound against Clef's crotch. The stimulation felt good, making Clef moan, his hips instinctively pushing up against her. It seemed to encourage Brittany, and she pulled back to push Clef's shirt up, over his head, removing it completely and tossing it to her own clothes on the floor. She didn't look at his body, instead keeping her eyes on his face as she scooted back, then her gaze flicked down to his pants while she unfastened the button, then ripped down the zipper and tugged the black denim down just enough to fish Clef's barely hard dick out.

A shiver ran through him as he was exposed, and it made him think of Allegro, always so cold. Then an impending feeling of guilt flooded through Clef, nearly drowning him. Allegro had been so hurt that he couldn't come here tonight, that he couldn't celebrate the event's success together with Clef, even though he had helped so much. Allegro had been sent away to sit alone in a dark basement so that Clef could come here and... what? And hook up with some chick he didn't even know and barely had any kind of connection with.

When Brittany leaned down to kiss him again, Clef put his hand to her shoulders, stopping her. "Wait," he said. "Stop."

She pulled back, a crease forming between her brows. "What? Why?"

"I don't want to do this."

"Why not?"

Clef's eyes pulled away and he flushed warm, wishing she would just accept it and get up. He didn't feel like having a whole conversation while his dick hung out of his pants. "Just... We only just met. We don't even know each other."

Brittany laughed. "So? We don't need to be BFFs to hook up."

"I don't want a hook-up."

It was silent for only a second, and then Brittany spat, "Would you want it if I were _Lindsay_?" There was venom in her voice, shocking Clef into looking back up at her with widened eyes. Her scowl deepened as she said, "I saw you looking her way all night." Then her lip curled. "Unless it was _Lan_ you were looking at."

" _No_ ," Clef replied quickly, heart pounding. "I wasn't looking at anyone."

"Bull _shit_ ," Brittany said. " _Everyone_ wants Lindsay."

"I wasn't looking at anyone," Clef repeated. "But I do admire their relationship. I want... something real like that, not a hook-up."

"Yeah, right," Brittany snorted. Then she grabbed Clef's dick, pumping it in her slim hand as she added, "We can go on a date later."

"No!" Clef yelled as he sat up. "I don't want this!" He pushed Brittany back, knocking her off of him. She landed on her back on the bed, legs spread awkwardly, but she quickly righted herself, sitting up on her knees. She was flushed with anger and embarrassment. She looked pissed, and Clef got ready to fend her off if she decided to smack him or something.

Instead, Brittany's eyes went cold. "If we don't _fuck_ tonight, I'm going to tell everyone you raped me."

Clef's heart and the whole world stopped. She... She wouldn't... But then, maybe she would. He didn't know, because he didn't _know_ her. He didn't know anything about her, and he couldn't take the chance that she might be bluffing. Nobody would believe him if she did accuse him. Maybe his bandmates would, but the police certainly wouldn't. No jury in the land would believe that the pretty, little _girl_ was the aggressor here, not the fat, loser guy. He would lose his job, his band would never get a gig again unless he left, his family would never look at him the same way again. His life could be ruined, even though _he_ was the victim.

So Clef sat back down, mostly still, fear making his stomach roil.

"That's better," Brittany said. "Now, lay down again." When he did so, she smiled. It wasn't such a pretty smile anymore. Then she took hold of Clef's completely limp cock, stroking him as she said, "Sorry I'm not Lindsay."

Clef didn't say anything. His mouth stayed shut as his eyes slipped closed, letting her do whatever she wanted to him, hoping it would be over soon.

A pretty girl who wanted him could barely get his dick to stir, but the stroking stimulated enough hardness into him to satisfy Brittany eventually. She smiled and said, "Maybe I'm pretty enough after all," as she reached under her skirt and pulled off her panties. Clef's dick was only half hard as she positioned herself over it, spreading her pussy open with one hand while running the head of Clef's cock along her slit a few times, teasing. "You should be grateful. It's not like anyone else would do this with you."

Clef just wished she would shut up and get it over with.

Brittany began to lower herself then, stuffing the half-hard cock into her cunt until enough was in that it wouldn't slip back out. It did feel good, at least, her wet walls gripping Clef's dick, swallowing him up. He could feel himself lengthen inside of her, his body's natural instinct to _fuck_ overriding the turmoil in his mind, and he gasped as she continued to slide down onto him.

Brittany moaned when she was fully seated on Clef's hips, though the sound provided little excitement for him. He was even less excited when she wiggled her ass, then said, "I'm not on the pill, so make sure you don't come inside me." Like he had a whole hell of a lot of say in what happened to his body anymore.

Then she began to move, rocking her hips, lifting her cunt, then dropping back down, riding Clef's cock hard with her hands planted on his soft chest. It didn't take long for the squeezing of her pussy to draw out more of Clef's erection, growing larger still as she mashed her mound against him, grinding her clit against his groin before rising up and swallowing him again.

"Oh, god!" she cried out as she bounced hard on him. "Oh, _fuck_! You're even bigger than I imagined! Fuck!"

Clef moaned between panting breaths and he gripped handfuls of the bed covers, not wanting to touch his blackmailer even as his hips pushed up into her. His eyes remained tightly closed, not wanting to look at her, even as his balls tightened, ready to breed her, whether it was wanted or not.

Then he heard her call out " _Lan_." It was soft at first, a needy, wanton plea, but it grew louder as she fucked him harder, until she was crying out, "Lan! Oh fuck, _Lan_! Fuck me!"

His mind had been blank, but hearing Lan's name brought all of Clef's hidden fantasies rushing back to him. Lan sucking his dick while looking up at him with those too-blue eyes of his. Lan jerking them both off, sliding their dicks between their clasped hands as they lapped at each other's lips. Lan riding him like this girl was, crying out his name as his dick bounced against Clef's stomach. Clef would thrust up to meet every single one of Lan's downward strokes, fucking as hard as he was getting fucked until they were both screaming as they came.

Clef cried out loudly as he shot his load into the tight heat that squeezed around him, milking every drop of his cum. It was a feminine moan that met him though, his senses starting to clear. He cracked open his eyes to see Brittany rocking slowly on him, eyes closed and hips twitching as she rode out the last embers of her orgasm. Her sensitive clit bumped his pelvis again, sending a shiver through her, and she stopped moving, eyes slowly opening.

At least it was over.

"Oh my god!" Brittany began to wail as she pulled herself off of Clef's body. "I told you not to come inside me!" As she grabbed her clothes up off the floor, sliding her panties on over her sopping crotch, Clef remained silent. That wasn't the experience he had wanted to have; Brittany wasn't the girl – the _person_ – he wanted to be with. And after she had thrown on her sweater, not bothering with the bra, just stuffing the blue material into her purse, Brittany snapped, "If I get pregnant, you're going to pay for it for the rest of your life!" Then she stomped out of the room, letting the door slam shut behind her.

Clef threw an arm over his eyes. He wanted to cry; he fought it off. This was supposed to be a perfect night of music and magic, and instead he ended up... abused.

He wiped away the one tear that escaped his eye, then reached down to tuck his dick back into his pants. It took tremendous effort to get himself dressed. The alcohol in his stomach had gone sour, making him sick. He wanted to go home, so he just left. He left everything behind except for his phone and his wallet, still snug in his pockets, and left the hotel, left the party, left everything without saying goodbye.

He stumbled as he walked home, still pretty drunk, heart and mind broken. He puked several times, and found himself in a dark alley on his hands and knees, hovering over a pile of vomit at one point. All he could think about was just how much he hoped someone mugged and murdered him. He may have actually died of hypothermia if he hadn't stumbled across an on-duty taxi, using up every last cent in his wallet to be escorted home by a bearded dude who kept asking if Clef wanted to go to a hospital instead.

The house was dark and silent when he stumbled up the driveway, long past even his grandmother's bed time. It took him four tries to get his key in the lock and the door open, and once he was in, he collapsed in the entryway. For a few minutes, he just lay on the cold tile, willing himself not to throw up right there. When it felt safe enough to move, he climbed to his feet and made his way downstairs.

As soon as the basement light was on, Allegro was on him, bashing against Clef as if trying to body slam him to no avail. "Is this how you repay me!? Huh!? Leaving me alone and bored!? I couldn't even get into my room!"

Clef just ignored him. He understood somewhere in the back of his muddled mind that Allegro probably just felt abandoned, but he couldn't deal with it right then, too busy fighting with the lock on his bedroom door. He couldn't get the key into the padlock that sealed his door shut, and in a fit of temper he finally just grabbed the door handle and pulled, ripping the latch right out of the wall. One more thing for him to deal with later; for now he needed to get into bed.

He flopped face-first on top of the covers, letting out several sobs into his pillow before catching himself. Don't cry; men don't cry. So he swallowed hard, clenching his eyes tightly shut, trying to force the pain in his heart to quell and sleep to come.

"What's wrong with you?"

Clef's eyes cracked open to see Allegro standing close to his face, scowling, though there was concern lining the crease in his brow. With the last bit of strength Clef had, he lifted his hand to brush a finger lightly along Allegro's cheek, then through the fall of his long, gray hair. "I should have come home with you," he whispered. "I owe my success to you. I should have... come home and celebrated... with you."

Then his world went black.

He woke up some hours later, head pounding and stomach roiling, a hangover the likes of which he hadn't seen in a long time leading a revolt against his body. The basement light outside his room was still on, casting a soft glow through the open door of his room. Something hard jabbed him in the ass, and after several stupefied moments, he realized he was laying on his phone.

Slowly, carefully, as if any small movement would leave him in pain and vomit – because it _would_ – Clef reached back and pulled his phone out of his pants pocket, then reached across his body, intending to set it on the nightstand. It hit the nightstand, then almost immediately tipped over the edge and fell to the floor. Clef sighed, and then finally opened his eyes.

There was a small branch of green grapes sitting on the nightstand; Clef guessed it was some kind of get-well gift from Allegro. It was a sweet gesture, but if he tried to eat anything right then it would lead to certain puking. So instead he just curled into the fetal position and turned his head to press his face into the pillow.

The soft flapping of tiny wings brushed his ear, then he heard Allegro ask, "What happened?"

Clef remained quiet for a long moment, until he turned his head just enough to say, "I don't want to talk or even think about it right now."

"Tell me," Allegro replied in a small, demanding voice.

Clef didn't answer – not at first. He laid there with his eyes closed, wishing the whole world would dissolve to nothing around him. He didn't want to open his eyes ever again; he didn't want to face Allegro or Brittany or himself or anyone. He didn't want to be a victim.

But eventually, his eyes cracked open. He didn't look at anything, only stared at the corner of the pillow that was in his line of vision, but he saw a blurry image of Allegro in his peripheral, taking a seat on the corner of the nightstand. Then Clef's mouth opened a bare slit and he said, "There was a girl, and... We fucked..."

"Oh." Allegro's voice came out stiff. "Well, that's nice for you."

Clef closed his eyes again. His head throbbed. He licked his parched lips before saying, "No... I didn't want it. I told her I didn't want it, but she forced me. She threatened me, so I had to do it with her even though I didn't want to, and I can't even tell anyone. Everyone would think I'm lying; a _guy_ being used by a _girl_. They would laugh at me, or worse." Then he opened his eyes again, hot tears escaping at last. "I'm angry and _humiliated_. And I'm _scared_. If she gets pregnant from it, I'll have to give up my music and my dreams to pay for it." His eyes squeezed shut again, a small sob wrenching from him before he said, "I don't want any of this. I just want to die."

If Allegro ever responded, Clef didn't hear it. Blurting everything out had stolen the last of his strength, and he passed out once again.


	11. Chapter 11

The next time he woke up, it was to his grandmother's voice calling his name. Then brightness stabbed his eyeballs right through his eyelids, and he squeezed them tightly shut as he moaned in discomfort. At least he didn't feel like throwing up.

"Clef?" Grandma called again. "Are you up?"

"No," Clef croaked out in reply.

"Bullseye Mart called," she said. "They want to know if you're going in today."

_Fuck_. He should have taken two days off instead of just one. Even if... what had happened didn't happen, he still would have spent the night drinking, would have ended up drunk and horrendously hung over. He hadn't even thought about it; he was just one fuck up after another.

He slowly opened his eyes. Grandma had turned his bedroom's overhead light on and stood in the doorway, looking at him expectantly, waiting for an answer like she had all the time in the world, because she did, no job or promises pressing down on her. Must have been nice.

"I am way too sick to go in today," Clef groaned. If he got fired for skipping out, well, so be it.

"All right, I'll call in sick for you." Thank goodness for grandmothers. "And I'll bring you some water and crackers."

"Thanks," Clef said, then winced at a particularly hard throb in his head.

"That must have been some party."

The need to throw up came back. "You have no idea."

"There are some grapes on your stand."

Clef's eyes rolled to look at the little gift that had been left for him. He couldn't exactly admit where they came from, though, so he just said, "Yeah, I must have brought them down for some reason when I was drunk."

Grandma just laughed, saying, "How queer," as she turned and shuffled from the room.

Clef closed his eyes, his heart beginning to ache. "Yep, that's me," he whispered to himself. It was time to admit it at last, on top of everything else he had to deal with. He hadn't been able to come even with a hot girl riding him until he started thinking of Lan. He had been looking at Lan all night, and not just out of some kind of admiration for his and Lindsay's relationship. He wanted Lan; he wanted to be with Lan and to kiss him and undress him and feel Lan's talented fingers caress him all over. He wanted Lan to prod at him with casual, mindless touches and nibble on his shoulder.

He wanted a guy, and he wanted him far more genuinely than he had ever wanted any girl. Fighting with himself to be normal wouldn't ever change that, so he may as well admit it.

"Allegro?" Clef called softly. He would say it to his little Jiminy Pixie first; get it out free of judgement. "Allegro?" a bit louder, opening his eyes to look around.

There was no response, which confused and concerned Clef.

He moved an arm and began to push himself up, and instantly the bile in his stomach shot up his throat. He froze, swallowing it back down, the acid burning his esophagus. Then he slowly lowered himself, laying still until the nausea passed.

"Allegro?" he tried one more time, but there was still no answer, and there was nothing he could do about it. "Stop disappearing," Clef whispered, and then he closed his eyes to quietly concentrate on healing.

It wasn't long before his grandmother came back, entering his room to set the water and a sleeve of saltines on his nightstand. She looked down at him with sympathetic green eyes, then reached down and brushed the hair off his forehead in loving strokes. It felt nice – it had been so long since she had been so affectionate with him, he couldn't even remember the last time she had shown such care. Probably when he was a kid.

"Are you alright?" she asked, putting a skeletal hand to his forehead.

No, he wasn't. Not at all. But he couldn't tell his grandmother about what had happened – she probably wouldn't believe he was a victim in the first place, and if by some crazy chance she did, it would just worry her sick. It was a lose-lose situation, just like the rest of his life. So all he said was, "Yeah, just hungover."

"If you need to go to the hospital, I'll carry you."

Clef puffed a laugh. "I don't think you could lift me."

"You never know!" The attempt at humor was appreciated. Then Grandma asked, "Do you need anything else?"

"My phone," Clef mumbled, pointing in the general direction of his grandmother's feet. "I dropped it."

Grandma looked down. "Down here?" she questioned, leaning this way and that to scope out the floor. "I don't see anything."

Clef groaned. He wasn't about to make his grandmother crawl around on the floor to see if it had bounced under the bed, and he was in no shape to do it himself, so he just said, "Never mind. I'll look for it later."

"Hope you didn't lose- Oh!" Grandma cut herself off with her exclamation. "I see it. It's on your desk." She retrieved it for him, placing the device into Clef's outstretched hand.

"Thanks," he said. The only explanation he could think of was that Allegro moved it there for some reason; maybe he had been using it out of boredom, or maybe he was being considerate and didn't want Clef to step on it by accident, though that was far less likely.

After reminding Clef that if he needed anything, all he had to do was call, his grandmother took her leave, and Clef turned to his phone.

When he switched the device on and tapped in the security code, the phone instantly pulled up the picture Brittany had snapped of the two of them together, as if to mock him. His heart clenched painfully as if stabbed and his throat closed up. He should have known. The moment she took the picture – the moment she sat down next to him – he should have known something was up and that she wouldn't be all she had seemed. Maybe if he hadn't been drinking, maybe if he hadn't been high on music and a glimmering stage, maybe if he hadn't been so desperate and pathetic he could have seen her for the _whore_ that she was. But even in the absence of those things, he doubted he could ever predict she would be _so_ in need of an ego-boosting fuck that she would threaten to ruin his life.

With a huffed growl, he jabbed the 'delete' button, sending the picture to the trash.

His pain and anger quickly dissolved when he saw he had a series of short texts from Lan, first asking, _'Are you alright?_ ' then saying, ' _I have your bass and your coat_ ', followed a few minutes later by another, _'Are you alright?_ '

Clef's heart warmed, squeezing for an entirely different and far more pleasant reason.

He sent a reply back saying he was really sick and hungover, but otherwise okay, and that he would get his guitar the next day at practice. Hopefully he would be feeling better by then.

Lan's reply was almost immediate. ' _How did it go with Brittany?_ ', punctuated with a wink.

That stabbing in his chest came back. He had to remind himself that Lan didn't know what happened, and was just bantering like any straight, guy friend would. Clef wanted to unload everything, wanted to tell Lan what Brittany had done to him, how scared he was, how worthless he felt, and how hard he was crushing on Lan himself.

Instead, he just replied, ' _Great_ '.

Then he set his phone on the nightstand, actually making it this time, and grabbed a cracker to get something relatively safe in him. After nibbling that away and following it with a sip of water, he settled down again and closed his eyes. He wished Allegro were with him – he was worried about the pixie, and wanted the comfort of having him around.

It was with those thoughts simmering at the top of his mind that he fell in and out of consciousness for a few hours. When he finally woke up for good, he felt worlds better – physically at least. He could sit up without feeling like he would vomit, and his headache had abated to a merely annoying thrum. So, after several more crackers and some sips of the water, he climbed out of bed and set to changing out of his dirty clothes, into something fresh. He would have taken a shower – to wash away the pain and humiliation spread over him like a layer of grime – but he was growing increasingly worried about Allegro, though by now he was aware of the pixie's ability to take care of himself. It was warm enough during the day by now that Allegro would likely be perfectly fine going outside and flying around by himself; if Tom had started to chase him, Allegro would have flown back into his makeshift room to safety. Logically, Allegro was probably fine, but Clef wouldn't be satisfied until he at least went out and looked.

So, he called out Allegro's name one more time to the apparently empty room, just in case, then called out softly as he trekked through the basement. His grandmother was in the kitchen when he went up the stairs, asking if Clef was feeling better. He assured her he was, then said that he was going for a walk for some fresh air.

He didn't find any sign of Allegro anywhere around the house – not that Clef would have known what signs to look for. There was no reply when he called the pixie's name, either. He prayed to gods he didn't even believe in that a bird hadn't gotten hold of Allegro.

Clef walked to the woods and to the beach, but no replies came to any of his calls. He couldn't think of anywhere else Allegro could have gone that wouldn't require driving to, but he was just too tired to go that far. It wasn't the first time Allegro had disappeared on him, so it would likely be a waste of his time to try driving around, fretting for nothing, anyway. Or at least, that's what he told himself, over and over, as he slinked his way back home. As usual, he was helpless.

A shower felt like heaven, though it only just barely began washing away the disgust of what had happened. He toweled his hair dry as he made his way through the house to his room, and after he had closed the door, he just stood there. The room felt so empty, it was swallowing him. He felt scared. Moving to his desk chair with heavy, forced steps, he sat down, and then his head dropped, falling into his hands. He told himself that if he fell into some kind of despair then Brittany would win. She would probably laugh if she saw him now, maybe even congratulate herself for breaking a guy, call him a wimp. He had to get over this.

The door popped open and Clef's head shot up, trying to keep the fear out of his eyes. He saw Allegro, tiny violin and bow in one hand, pushing closed the door that was so flimsy even a pixie could maneuver it with ease.

"Where were you?" Clef asked, fighting to prevent the desperate edge he was on from seeping into his voice.

"I... didn't want to disturb you, so I went to the woods," Allegro answered with his head turned carefully to the side.

But Clef had gone to the woods. If Allegro had been there, he had ignored Clef's calling, or maybe he hadn't heard. Somehow, Clef got the feeling that wasn't the case, though. "All day?" he questioned.

"And here and there," Allegro added.

They fell quiet for a moment, and then Clef softly admitted, "I was worried about you."

Allegro looked at him then, something brewing in the sparkling, gray depths of his eyes, and then his gaze drew away again. "Well, don't. I've taken care of myself my whole life; I don't need a parent now."

Clef's heart squeezed. He thought about how his grandmother had cared for him that morning, bringing him food and water even though it was so hard for her to go up and down the basement stairs, babying him even though he was no longer her precious baby. Allegro had never had anyone care for him like that, had he?

It made Clef profoundly sad.

It was awkward going into work the next day. As soon as Clef had punched in, he found Jackie and apologized profusely for his absence the previous day, mentioning how he had been so sick he could hardly even stand up or make a phone call. Jackie assured him it was all right, which eased Clef's heart the tiniest fraction, and then she reminded him that he was totally replaceable, so his absence was no big deal. Clef couldn't decide if he felt better or worse after that.

Katie was already on a register when Clef went out to the floor, and while normally that would be a reason to rejoice, he was having a hard time mustering up any emotions at all. He just wanted to go home and crawl under his covers forever.

"You look like your dog died," Katie said from behind him when a lull hit. Clef only shrugged as she came around to stand across from him, resting her elbows on his counter. Her hazel eyes seemed to study him for a moment, and then she dropped a hand to smack the counter. "Do you want to hear something funny?"

Clef didn't respond, irritation rising in him. He really just kind of wanted to be alone – or alone as he could get at a chain retail store, anyway.

"So, I was fucking my husband in the bathroom this morning, but I couldn’t stand to look at him, so I turned around and was grinding on his lap." She mimed the action, and while usually Clef might have laughed, instead he just felt sick. "But when he came, he thrust up so hard I was pushed face-first into the wall." She laughed, smacking Clef's counter again. "And he just grunted like a pig. What an ass. If I didn't want another baby so bad-"

"Why don't you just divorce him?" Clef snapped suddenly. Normally he would just blow off her stories of how much every little thing her husband did pissed her off or disgusted her. He chalked it up to none of his business when she went on about how much she hated the man she had pledged to have and to hold, but right then, Clef just couldn't take it. "If you hate him so much, divorce him. Let him go. He's not your _fucking_ sperm donor."

For a moment, Katie just stared at him in shock. Her eyes were wide, brows creased, until slowly her expression drew into a hot scowl. "How about you go fuck yourself?" she said curtly, and then she turned and walked away.

Work that day was shit, awkward and uncomfortable, and Clef couldn't find it in him to care. When his shift ended, he left without saying anything to anyone. Practice with the band didn't make him feel all that much better either, the others sitting around, talking, when he was let in.

"We were just talking about the next gig," Lan said, as if that weren't the kind of conversation Clef needed to be a part of. "We don't want to lose momentum now that the fest is done. Right?"

Clef just shrugged.

"But there isn't exactly anything local going on anytime soon, so we were thinking of going for something further away." Lan perked a smile, seeming excited at the idea. "What do you think?"

"Sure, I can afford that," Clef replied in a dead voice.

Lan's smile fell, worry coming into his eyes. He was perceptive and gentle, at least where his friends were concerned. That's why everyone loved him so much. "Are you alright?" he asked softly.

All Clef could hear was Brittany crying out Lan's name. He fought to keep the sneer off his lip, and his eyes pulled away to the side. "I'm just tired."

"I'm surprised you're not bouncing off the walls," Cade said with a lecherous smirk. "Considering you actually got laid." Then he laughed. "Unless she wore you out that much."

Clef snapped for the second time that day, on edge, wanting everyone to disappear. He bit out, "Mind your own fucking business," and then turned and walked away without wanting to see what he had done. Probably, the other guys would exchange glances; maybe they would call out to him, tell him he was being a shit, tell him they didn't want to be bandmates with an asshole. None of that happened, though. Instead, the room remained quiet, an awkward stillness blanketing the whole condo as Clef went over to where his guitar case and coat lay waiting for him.

He pulled the bass from its case, and then his hands went still as he stared at his beloved instrument. Then, slowly, he rested his forehead against the neck of his bass and closed his eyes, trying to force the anger and pain and frustration out of him. Only when he had calmed down enough that he was sure he wouldn't tear into anyone did he finally pull the guitar away and flip the strap across his shoulders. He took a breath, then turned around to face his friends again.

"Sorry," Clef muttered.

Lan smiled, a comforting gesture that did little to make Clef feel better. "We're going to work on ' _Savage_ ' today," Lan said, informing Clef of other things that had been decided without him. "Since we haven't done much with it yet, it would be nice to have something brand new for the next show. Have you still got the notes for it?"

Clef just nodded and turned back to his guitar case, pulling out a folder of sheet music from a slim pocket. Cade had submitted the new song to them shortly before the winter holidays and everyone liked it, working on tweaking it here and there over the months. When the rock fest came up, however, they decided to go with tried and true songs for this re-entry into live performing. It would be fun to work on something new, he supposed, but Clef was having a tough time dredging up any excitement as he read over the sheet music, as easy as reading a book.

Then Clef stuck the sheet on a random music stand nearby and got into position, then they began to play. A single chord rang out before Cade pulled into his solo, because of course he wrote in a solo for himself right at the beginning of the song. It was good, though, admittedly, rising in intensity, a feeling of being chased, captured at last when they all jumped in together to tear their audience apart.

They played the song through a couple times, going over the trickier parts slowly until they had everything down. They were just starting another full-speed run-through when Lan suddenly stopped playing and raised his hand, calling for them to stop. "Hold up, guys. Phone," Lan said as he held up his vibrating phone. It wasn't often, but sometimes Lan got calls from work in the evening, so he had to keep his phone on even at practice.

Lindsay, on the other hand, never called during practice time, so when Lan's eyes widened a fraction and he held his phone to his ear, saying, "Hey, Babe. What's up?" it was a bit of a surprise. "Woah, Linds, Sweetie, slow down. What happened?" There was worry in Lan's voice, a level of concern that made Clef both uneasy and ache with longing. And when next came, "What? How?" Clef got the feeling practice was over. "All right, I'll be right there," Lan said into the phone.

"What's going on?" Cade asked as Lan slipped his phone back into his pocket and slid his guitar strap off his shoulders. Something heavy settled in his eyes, pulling them to the ground, looking like he didn't want to answer the question.

Finally, Lan let out a slow, careful breath and set his guitar down on a stand. "We need to cancel practice for tonight," he said. "Lindsay's friend..." They he paused for a second before admitting, "Apparently Brittany was found this morning in a vegetative state. She's alive, but..." He raised his hand, tapping his fingertips against his skull. "There's nothing. No function, or... something. I'm not sure, but Lindsay is freaking out. I need to be with her." Then he looked up, meeting Clef's wide-eyed gaze. "Clef, man... I'm so sorry..."

Clef's hands began to shake, but not for the reason they were likely thinking. Anger began to race through him once again, and betrayal.

It was Allegro.

Everything began to piece together as Clef nearly threw his bass down, grabbed his coat, and ran from the condo without saying anything. His chest hurt as he raced home, heart pounding in rage. He had gotten complacent, too used to his easygoing, casual relationship with Allegro, that he had forgotten that the pixie was still basically a wild animal – an intelligent, loose cannon. It was why Allegro was gone for half the day yesterday; he had stalked Brittany through the phone, found her, and... And...

And it was all Clef's fault.

He slammed his bedroom door shut hard enough that he didn't even need to call for Allegro – the pixie came out of his room on his own, brow creased in confusion and irritation. Clef snatched him out of the air, holding the pixie's tiny body in a tight fist, earning him a sharp glare that went ignored as Clef growled, "What did you do?"

Allegro's voice was cold as he asked, "What do you mean?" in return.

"You know what I'm talking about!" Clef yelled, and then his grip squeezed tighter. He was pissed – pissed that Allegro could hurt someone so casually, that he had no regard for human life, that he could be so cruel. Clef's fist tightened further. "What did you do to her!?"

Allegro dropped his pretense of ignorance, eyes going hot, dangerous. His voice went low as he snarled, "She got what she deserved." Then he began to tug, trying to yank free of Clef's hold to no avail. "Let me go."

Clef's vision went white-hot with rage as his grip tightened more, and a shiver of fear coursed through him. He was scared of Allegro, scared of what Allegro could and apparently _would_ do. He had forgotten in these quiet few months that he was Allegro's _hostage_ , and he felt betrayed at the sudden remembrance of just where he stood with the pixie. He wasn't Allegro's friend or roommate or whatever; he was just a cover and place to hide out. He was nothing but a despicable human, something to be _used_ , and that hurt.

Suddenly, Allegro cried out in pain, and the spell of anger that had ensnared Clef broke. His eyes went wide and his heart squeezed as guilt crashed over him. He quickly opened his hand, releasing Allegro, who dropped several inches before catching himself. "I'm so sorry!" Clef said, but all he got in response was a furious glare. With a tiny hand pressed to tiny, bruised ribs, Allegro flew into his room and pulled the door shut.

"Allegro," Clef said, approaching the bookcase. He wouldn't barge in, though, despite how easy it would be to simply push the door open. "Allegro, I'm sorry. Please, let's talk about this." No response came, and he pleaded, " _Please_ ," but it was useless. He had fucked up, let his temper get the better of him again. It would only be a matter of time before he lost everything because he couldn't control himself.

"I'm sorry..." he tried one more time, but was met only with silence.

Sometimes – oftentimes – Clef acknowledged that he really needed to grow up and talk things out when he was upset, instead of throwing a tantrum like a child – like his mother. He still hadn't fixed his bed or spoken a word to Darlene since the New Year's blow up, Katie quite possibly hated him, and now he had hurt Allegro. He needed to remember to _breathe_ or something when he felt the rage boiling over inside him.

It was just so _hard_ to breathe when all he saw was red and his body seemed to move on its own; it was hard to talk it out when there was nothing but wrath on his tongue.

Guilt wracked him when he still got no response from Allegro the following day. He was a bit worried, unsure of just how hurt the pixie was, and was tempted to look in to check on him, but he had told Allegro the little room was his own space, and he wouldn't violate that – not just yet. So with a heavy heart, he left a large selection of Allegro's favorite foods and a full mug of coffee on the desk before heading off to work.

He apologized to Katie as soon as he got a chance to at work. He claimed he was mad about something else, family stuff, and wrongfully took it out on her, which was half true anyway. He told her he knew that wasn't an acceptable excuse and that he understood it was wrong to snap at her; he took all the blame onto himself, where it belonged, trying to be an adult who took responsibility for his actions. And Katie replied that she understood, that it was all okay, but it seemed forced. The usual friendliness between them was gone. There was no silly chatter, no banter, only a polite "See ya" when Clef's shift ended and he dragged himself from the store.

He had lost two people who were important to him because of his temper. Only time would tell how many more would get fed up with him.

Clef headed to Lan's place with an apology already on his lips, but was surprised to find his friends acting extra nice to him. Instead of already playing without him in the music room, they waited around the kitchen table, a shot of something or other waiting for him. Clef threw it back, appreciating the smiles his friends gave him more than the burn of the alcohol. And then Lan asked in a sincere voice, "Are you alright?"

Thinking about it, mulling his thoughts and feelings over in his mind as he continued to taste the alcohol on his tongue, Clef finally replied with, "No. Actually... I have to apologize for yesterday. I'm sorry for running out so suddenly."

"You don't have to apologize for that, man," Cade said. "You'd just found out your girl is a vegetable, after all."

Clef felt his brows dip into a scowl, but before he could say anything, Gaku reached up and smacked Cade in the back of the head.

"It must have been a shock for you," Lan cut in. "We know you really liked her."

They had it all wrong. While what had happened to Brittany was sad, the truth was that Clef was more upset by the fact that Allegro had been the one to hurt her, and he had done it, ultimately, for Clef's sake, like an inadvertent hitman. He was upset with the idea that her life was over because of him, even though she hadn't seemed too concerned with the idea of ruining Clef's life with false allegations.

"No," Clef heard himself say. Then he shook his head. "I didn't like her. I didn't even know her, but... I quickly found out that she was _not_ a nice person. She was a real bitch. And, yeah, we fucked, but..." His heart stabbed in his chest. "I didn't want it. I told her I didn't want it, but she _forced_ me. She threatened me." His fingers tightened around the shot glass in his hand, wishing there was more burning alcohol in it.

"What do you mean, you didn't want it?" Cade asked. "She was hot."

"I'm gay!" Clef yelled then. Of all the excuses he could have made – that her personality turned him off, that he got too embarrassed about his weight, that he was too drunk to get it up at the time – that was the truth that came out. Clef's cheeks burned, and he lowered his head to glare at the floor.

He breathed. Deep breaths. He wouldn't let his temper flare. He would talk it out, and if his friends dumped him after hearing the truth, well... At least he would have been honest with himself.

"I'm gay..." he said again, voice low and eyes still glued to the kitchen's linoleum floor. "I tried not to be. I tried to deny myself for a long time. But when I was with her, there was nothing, no interest. And as much as I wanted to write it off as being too drunk to... to perform, that wasn't it. I've never been interested in any girls. Even when I was _with_ girls in the past, my interest was only ever barely there, and I've always had to think of other things to sleep with them. But I'm tired of lying about it. I'm tired of making excuses to myself."

The room remained quiet for a drawn-out moment. Clef didn't know what would happen from here on. He wondered if he would come to regret his honesty – if he would find himself wishing he had just claimed he was broken up about Brittany and that's why he had run out and everything would go back to how it had been before. But it was too late for that now. He would have to suck it up and face the consequences like a man.

He was startled when a hand plopped down on top of his head, patting him like a puppy. Clef looked up to see Gaku smiling at him. "My friend," Gaku said simply, giving a few more pats.

"Yeah," Lan agreed, reaching a hand up to pat Clef's shoulder. "You're always going to be our friend, no matter what. You're still Clefton Andante, the best bass player I know, and a really great guy. Nothing has changed." His smile was warm and bright, making Clef's heart flutter. Then Lan turned to the others, prompting, "Right?"

Gaku nodded readily, and though Cade's nod was slower to come, even he eventually said, "Yeah, it's all good."

"And actually..." Lan said as his hands clasped together. "Not to steal your thunder, but... The truth is, I'm bi." He gave a little smile. "When we talked about your interests before... Maybe you didn't hear me, but I said that maybe it was wishful thinking that you might be interested in guys..." Clef had heard, and he nodded to acknowledge it, prompting Lan to continue with, "Well, I said that because I was hoping I wouldn’t have to feel so alone anymore."

It surprised Clef to hear that Lan had been feeling alone. Lan was their leader; everyone followed him and wanted to be around him. He was charismatic and popular, the last person anyone would guess felt any kind of isolation.

And yet, here they were, learning something new about him despite knowing him for years, something he had been hiding all this time, something he hadn't felt comfortable telling them until now. When he thought about it, it was no wonder Lan felt alone, with the way people – including Clef himself – made assumptions about him instead of really getting to know him.

"Though I do have it easier, admittedly," Lan continued. "I have Lindsay and I love her very much, so I haven't had to suffer society's bullshit about such things, but... Well, I get how hard it can be to accept that kind of thing about yourself. So, if you ever want to talk about it, I got ya."

And at long last, Clef smiled. For once, he felt absolutely included. "Thanks."

"Okay, but now I have to know," Cade said as he pushed up his glasses, then put his hand to his chin as if in deep thought. "If you _didn't_ have Lindsay, would you and Clef hook up?"

Clef felt his face go hot, heart beating hard, both anxious for and dreading the answer. The answer never came, though. Instead, Gaku once again lifted his hand and smacked Cade in the back of the head, while Lan just met Clef's gaze and smiled something soft and warm, then called for them to start practice.

It had taken a load off his heart to talk to his friends and reveal everything to them. He admitted, near the end of the night, that while it was sad what happened to Brittany, he wasn't exactly broken up about it, given what she had done to him. Mostly, he was just weirded out by it, or so he claimed, unable to go into the full truth of the matter.

As good as it had felt to come out to his friends, though, he wasn't quite prepared to tell his family. Not yet. When faced with his grandparents in their reclining thrones when he got home that evening, the relief of honesty transformed right back into fear and discomfort. When asked how practice was, he replied with an innocuous, "Good. We practiced our new song, and it's sounding great."

In his room, he saw that the mug of coffee he had left for Allegro was empty and all the food had been eaten. He supposed – _hoped_ – that was a good sign. So, Clef knocked on the wall beside Allegro's door, wanting to talk, wanting to have a real conversation about what was going on with the pixie. No response came, though. The shine of Allegro's light was visible through the crack between Allegro's door and wall, so the pixie must have been in there, and the bedroom door had been locked besides, so he couldn't have left. There was nowhere else Allegro could be, which meant he was purposely ignoring Clef. Perhaps he deserved that.

"I'm sorry," Clef said once again to the closed door. "Yesterday... I was scared. I had forgotten how capable you are of hurting people... How dangerous you can be. What happened to that girl was a very sudden reminder of what you can do, and that you can also hurt me."

He frowned, took a breath, then continued. "And I was angry that you just didn't give a shit about a human life. But I shouldn't have let my temper take over, and I shouldn't have hurt you, and-" His throat choked up suddenly, but he swallowed it. "I never meant to hurt you. I should have talked to you instead of getting angry."

He stopped then, waiting, hoping for an answer that never came. Even a kick to the face would be welcome, but instead he got nothing at all.

Defeated, Clef sighed, pressed a hand over the aching hole in his chest, and whispered a final, "I'm sorry" before walking away.

He took Allegro's Tupperware toilet upstairs to clean it out – a task that had stopped being embarrassing months ago – and washed Allegro's dishes before fixing some dinner. Some spaghetti had been left on the stove for him, along with some sauce and even a couple meatballs, so he filled a plate with everything leftover, heating it up in the microwave before carrying the dish down to his room.

The thought that it had been far too long since he had taken any pictures of his dolls struck him once again as he ate and browsed his favorite, neglected, doll sites. His guys must be covered in dust by now.

He was checking out one doll-maker's new selection of fantasy skin colors when he felt a featherweight land on his shoulder, a velvet wing brushing his ear. For a long time, it remained silent. Clef continued to look over the web site casually, patiently waiting for Allegro to be ready to speak.

Finally, it came.

"I'm sorry for hurting your friend."

Clef snorted. "She was hardly a friend."

"You're right," Allegro continued. "I don't give a shit about human lives. Where I'm from, humans are considered monsters who devour everything in their paths. I don't care about humans at all. But you..." Silence fell lightly, if only for a moment. "I would never hurt _you_. I just wanted to protect you."

Clef's heart thudded, something in his chest squeezing tight. All he managed to say, though, was a whispered, "Why?"

Velvet wings brushed his ear again as Allegro lifted from his shoulder like a shot, skidding onto the desk. His gray skin was dusted pink, all the way to the curls of his feet, and he stammered out, "J-Just because you give me food!" Then he grabbed a meatball from Clef's plate, making a mess of his arms, hair, clothes, _everything_ , before huffing out, "That's all!" Then he zoomed back into his makeshift room and shut the door.

Clef sat dumbfounded for a moment, until relief and amusement both bubbled out of him, and he began to laugh.


	12. Chapter 12

"The thing is," he said as he gestured with his slice of pizza. "Even if he _didn't_ have a girlfriend, it's not like I would stand a chance anyway. Though he _said_ I'm not bad looking, he was probably just being a friend. Just because he's bi doesn't mean he would hook up with anyone. Lan is way out of my league. I have nothing to offer him. I'm too fat." He followed up with a bite into the pizza, his third slice, though he had promised himself he would only eat two. But he swore this would be his last, plus whatever Allegro had left over from his slice.

Allegro, for his part, sat on the bedspread and nibbled on a circle of pepperoni, looking distracted, as if he hadn't heard a thing. Eventually, however, all he said was, "Huh."

Clef's lip twitched up as he replied, "You're supposed to say I have a lot to offer."

Brow creasing, focus came into his eyes as Allegro looked up to meet Clef's gaze and asked, "What? Why would I, if you just said you didn't?"

"That's what humans do," Clef explained, amusement lacing his voice. "We speak badly about ourselves so that our friends will say good things to make us feel better."

Allegro's brow creased further, dipping into a scowl that showed exactly what he thought of that human habit. "That's stupid."

Clef laughed. "True." It wasn't like he ever believed the compliments he had fished for anyway.

The room fell silent for a moment, and Clef finished his slice of pizza, then reached for the box again. Instead of grabbing another slice, though, he closed the box's lid and set it aside on the coffee table next to the bed. Once he turned back, he heard Allegro say, "You're shaped differently than your friends, but you're smart, kind, and fun to talk to. Saying you have nothing to offer because of your shape is like saying I have nothing to offer because my feet don't curl right." Then Allegro looked at Clef expectantly, as if looking for confirmation that he had done complimenting right.

Clef smiled, heart warming. Allegro really was too cute. "Thank you," he replied. "That's actually one of the most comforting things anyone has ever said to me." Then his smile turned up, puffing out a laugh. "I don't even give a thought to your feet."

"I don't give a thought to your shape."

Smile brightening, Clef actually believed that for the first time in his life. But then he laughed, reaching out as he said, "You've been putting on a little weight yourself." He lifted Allegro's shirt and poked his tummy, still trim by all means – Clef supposed flying around all the time burned calories like crazy – but definitely thicker than he was when they first met. His rib cage didn't show anymore, hip bones less visible. He looked healthy.

"What do you think you're doing!?" Allegro snapped, yanking his shirt back down. Then he flitted away from the bed and away from Clef's prodding finger.

"I thought pixies didn't care about nudity," Clef said with a hint of a smirk, teasing.

"We don't," Allegro answered as he turned his back to Clef and flew further away, hanging in the air in the center of the room for a moment. Then he turned, moving like lightening, and though Clef saw it coming, he was unable to dodge the kick that landed square in his forehead.

Clef fell back, more out of reflex than from any force behind the little pixie. His skull collided with the headboard of his bed, sending a minor jolt of pain through him, and he winced before looking down to see Allegro had landed on his chest, glaring down at him. Then Allegro leaned down, and for an insane second Clef felt like the pixie was going to kiss him. His pulse sped up as he wondered what it would feel like to have those tiny lips press against his, but when he actually pictured what it would look like, he somehow found it comical. Or perhaps he had knocked his head silly. Either way, he began to laugh.

"Don't _ever_ touch me," Allegro all but snarled, making Clef's mirth die on impact.

"Why?" Clef asked, unable to hide the hurt in his voice. "What did I do?"

"It... It makes me hot."

That didn't make any sense. Clef couldn't even begin to fathom what Allegro meant by that, especially since it was a complaint he had never heard from the pixie before. It left him dumb, only managing to say, "I thought you liked heat."

"I don't! Don't touch me!"

Then Allegro took off, zipping back into his room, closing the door behind him and leaving Clef confused, with something unknown aching in his chest.

Clef had come out to Katie and Mikey at work. Not outright, and not necessarily on purpose, but when Mikey began his line about how Clef was welcome to tell him all about his ' _instrument_ ' over dinner, Clef started his usual response of, "Need I remind you..."

Mikey began to roll his eyes, and Clef smiled.

"That you are way too young for me?"

"Is that the _only_ reason?" Mikey asked, waggling his eyebrows.

Last chance to back out. Clef pretended to think about it, then answered, "Yeah, that's it."

Mikey slapped him on the arm while exclaiming, "Are you serious!?" And when Clef put a finger to his lips and flailed for Mikey to keep his voice down, Mikey loudly whispered, "Congrats, and welcome to the club."

"Thanks," Clef replied with an amused snort.

"So, I'm officially the only straight person here?" Katie confirmed, fake betrayal in her voice. "I feel so left out."

"Nonsense," Clef replied. "If anything, you're even more included, since we all want dick."

They all laughed at that, and continued to laugh and joke throughout the rest of their shift. Finally, things were back to normal. Katie seemed to have fully forgiven Clef, and Clef's anger at the world had petered out. For once, Clef felt content and happy.

So happy that, as he drove home that evening after the store had been closed up, he didn't notice a small car run a red light. It slammed into the side of his vehicle at full speed, sending Clef's car spinning across the intersection until it was stopped by a telephone pole on the other side of the road.

It sounded worse than it actually was. Clef had been wearing his seatbelt and his airbag had deployed properly. He had some bruising and cuts, but overall had come out of it unscathed. His car, unfortunately, hadn't fared so well. And though it was an awful betrayal on Clef's part, he hoped that the insurance agent would deem the whole thing wrecked and pay out for a brand new car. Instead, it was determined that the busted car was fixable, and would spend what was likely to be a few weeks at the shop getting repairs.

Though his grandfather argued with the agent with all the stubbornness of a cranky old man, the most they would do about a rental would be to pay half. Clef's Bullseye Mart salary wouldn't afford even half of several weeks' worth of a car rental, though, and he refused to take his grandparents' money to cover it, so he forwent the rental. He could walk or ride a bike to work – it wasn't _that_ far – and, after a group text conversation with his bandmates, Gaku offered to pick him up for practice, since it wasn't super out of the way for him. Clef was grateful; things would work out.

The first time Gaku came for him, Clef felt strangely nervous. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had a guest over, and he worried about stupid things, like if the house was clean enough or if his family would make any ill-timed racist jokes, even though it wasn't like Gaku was staying for dinner. He probably wouldn't get any further than the doorstep and then they would leave, so Clef reminded himself continuously to chill out.

That first time Gaku came, Clef hadn't been fast enough to grab his things and lock his door after giving a parting greeting to Allegro; his grandmother had gotten to Gaku first, and Clef reached the front door to find the old woman brushing the poor guy's hair out of his face, going on about how much she hated when people's hair was in their eyes. She held his overgrown bangs back, giving a rare glimpse of Gaku's dark eyes, and he smiled fondly at her.

"Gram, leave him alone," Clef said, attempting to save his friend, even though Gaku just took it all in stride.

"You are far too handsome to hide your face like that," she said as she let his hair go to wag a finger at him. Then she began to turn towards the kitchen. "I made some meatloaf. Are you hungry?"

"We have to get to practice," Clef said in a grand attempt to save the both of them from a grandmother's web of endless food.

Luckily, Grandma let them go without a fight, and Clef apologized out of embarrassment once they were in Gaku's tiny car.

The second time Gaku came, he showed up at Clef's bedroom door. He must have been sent down instead of Clef being called up, and it had been enough of a surprise that Clef would only crack his door open, his room in its eternal state of disarray the biggest embarrassment yet.

He had just stepped away to grab his bass when Clef heard his grandmother's voice enter the basement, saying a cheerful, "I found just the thing!" She sounded more amused than Clef had heard her in a long time, yet he could only watch in horror as the smiling old woman once again brushed Gaku's hair out of his face, and then proceeded to pin it back with a small, butterfly-shaped hair clip. "There, now we can see your pretty face."

Clef pressed a hand to his face. "Gram, he's a guy; he's not going to wear that."

Gaku smiled bright and shook his head. "I like it."

"See, he likes it," Grandma echoed, having way too much fun, only getting away with it because she was cute.

Clef had turned to grab his keys and switch off the light when he spied Allegro peering out from behind a pile of stuff near the door. The pixie stared hard at Gaku until Clef casually side-stepped into his field of vision, trying to convey with his eyes that Allegro should be hiding right then, and then he reached up to flick off the light switch.

Gaku didn't seem to have noticed Allegro, or if he did, he didn't say anything. Though Gaku wasn't one for talking in general, surely even he would have said _something_ if he had seen a pixie hiding out in his bandmate's bedroom. It seemed they were safe, but Clef still had to ask, "What were you doing, hanging out by the door like that? You were almost seen," when he got home later that evening.

All Allegro said in response was, "I saw that guy's eyes for the first time."

Clef stopped anything he was about to say, taken aback by the random comment. "Yeah?" was the first thing he managed to say, then added, "Well, he always has his hair in his face, so it can be hard to get a good look at him."

"He looks different."

Clef laughed. "Yeah, he's Asian." Then, since he knew the curious pixie would ask, he explained, "Asia is a different part of the world. People from different places can look really different, but we're all human. Don't pixies have different appearances?"

"Our hair and wings come in different colors," Allegro answered, thoughtful. "But our faces are all basically the same. But... I've only ever seen pixies from my forest."

It made sense, Clef supposed. If humans hadn't migrated and spread all over the globe eons ago, there would likely be far less variety amongst them. In that situation, he supposed they would have to find other reasons to be shitty to each other, like pixies and their foot-curl hierarchy.

"Do you think he's pretty?" Allegro asked, voice low.

"Gaku?" Clef confirmed, and then he shrugged. "Yeah, I think so. Especially when his hair is out of his face."

Allegro's expression had fallen from quietly inquisitive to something more morose, and then he silently flew off without addressing the topic again.

That had been a week ago, and now Allegro was saying Clef couldn't touch him. He had stopped sleeping against Clef's neck, even on the coldest of nights, and often seemed distracted. Something was wrong, though Clef couldn't even begin to figure out what. Perhaps Allegro was feeling trapped again, or maybe it was some kind of pixie PMS. Whatever it was, Clef wanted to help, and he wracked his brain for ideas while cooking a mound of bacon and eggs for their breakfast.

Allegro had still been asleep when Clef had gone up to get their food together, but when Clef brought the plates downstairs and set them on the desk, Allegro came out of his room as if lured and sat, digging in without a word. With a smile, Clef slid Allegro's little mug over to him, full of fresh, hot coffee, but the hopeful smile fell when Allegro took it wordlessly and continued to eat without speaking to and hardly looking at Clef.

He wanted to talk. If Allegro was upset about something or hurt or suffering, Clef wanted to know – wanted to help. But it was just too awkward. His voice stuck in his throat, unable to say that he was worried about Allegro, that if he had done something wrong, he was sorry, that he missed feeling Allegro's small body pressing up against him at night. So he ate silently, like the loser he was, intimidated by a moody pixie.

When Allegro's mug was empty, Clef refilled it from his own, and when that was downed, Allegro finally spoke up, asking, "Will you go to your practice today?"

"Yeah," Clef answered. "Later on."

"Will you see the guy with the pretty eyes?"

He must have meant Gaku, since he was the only one whose eyes had been noteworthy to Allegro. The question itself was strange, though – not only was the answer obvious, but why in the world did he care all of a sudden? All Clef could answer with, though, was, "Well, we're in a band together, so of course. Why?"

Allegro didn't answer, simply looked down, eyes pulling away. His wings had started fluttering, yet he still pushed his mug towards Clef, a silent demand for more. Clef took the mug and set it aside, cutting the pixie off.

By the time Gaku came to pick him up, Clef was no more privy to Allegro's thoughts than he had ever been.

Lan was practically bouncing when Clef and Gaku arrived at the condo, eyes and smile blindingly bright. When Clef asked what had him so excited, though, Lan just said, "You'll see when everyone's here." His energy _almost_ eased Clef's pixie-related stress.

When Cade arrived, they all gathered in Lan's living room, and then Lan asked as calmly as he could, "Have you guys heard of the 'Music Factor' song contest?"

"No way," Cade exclaimed in disbelief, clearly drawing the same instantaneous conclusion Clef did. Everyone knew what 'Music Factor' was – a nation-wide, televised song contest that could propel talented nobodies to super stardom. Winners of the contest were given a record deal that included studio time, a producer, professional sound engineers, and the works, as well as a sizeable sum of prize money. Even those who didn't win got tons of exposure, being on TV, and it wasn't uncommon for the runners-up to find themselves with offers as well.

For Lan to have brought it up at all could only mean one thing.

Lan nodded, and then his grin broke free. "I entered us and sent them a video of our performance from Virgin Cherry's fest. We have to do a live audition in Apfelwein next month, and if we pass that, we'll do the prelims in Cognac, then the finals in Himbeergeist."

"That's awesome!" Cade said, bouncing out of his seat to smack Lan on the shoulder, unable to contain his excitement. Gaku looked happy as well – his hair was back in his eyes, but a bright smile lit up the rest of his face. He looked as though he would be wagging his tail enthusiastically, if he had one.

It was a fantastic opportunity, possibly a once-in-a-lifetime chance. Clef didn't want to shit on it, but several points of worry immediately began gnawing at him, only one of which he could voice out loud. "I'm..." He started slowly, wanting to resist saying what was on his mind, even if it needed to come out. "I'm not sure I can afford to travel. You know I don't make very much, and my car insurance is about to go through the roof."

The others looked at him, and Cade's smile dipped a bit, but Lan's only deepened.

"Don't worry about it," Lan said. "Apfelwein will just be a day trip, and we shouldn't have to spend more than one night in Cognac. I'll cover everything for that. And _when_ we make it to finals, we'll all chip in to pay for your flight."

Though Gaku began nodding in agreement, Clef shook his head. "I can't have you guys paying for me; it's not right."

"We're not paying for you," Cade interjected, a lopsided smile back on his face. "We're, like, renting you, as a musician, to play with us."

Clef's heart sank; as if he didn't feel like an outsider enough as it was. None of the others were 'rentals'; they were _real_ members of the band. And though Clef knew in his head that Cade hadn't meant it like that, it still stung a fierce bite in his heart. His fingers flexed towards a fist, trying to hold back from screaming at the injustice of having to choose between his pride and the chance of a lifetime when no one else did.

But finally, with all eyes on him, he quietly said, "All right, but... I'll pay you guys back. If we win, I'll use my share of the prize money to repay you. If we don't, it'll take a bit longer, but I _will_ pay you back."

The smiles he received made the wound in his heart worth it. "Well, be ready to pay up," Cade said. "Because we will win it."

They once again threw themselves into practice with the fervor of an upcoming performance. They would play ' _Following Shadows_ ', their tried-and-true best song, for the live audition, then decide on the others once they had made it through. They finished practice covered in sweat but giddy with excitement, and for a few moments, Clef allowed himself to forget about all the troubling things.

When Gaku had dropped him back off at home, Clef excitedly told his grandparents about the contest, to which his grandfather lovingly reminded him that the TV cameras will add ten pounds to his apparent weight. So Clef's smile went tense, he made some comment about how they might not get that far anyway, and then he slipped off to his room.

His excitement returned when he saw Allegro, the pixie lurking in the doorway of his makeshift room as if he had been waiting for Clef's return. When Clef grinned at him, though, Allegro took a step back into his room before asking, "What's wrong with you?"

Clef gave a chuckle. He wanted to feel the comfort of Allegro sitting on his shoulder once again, but he had been told not to touch, and feared the pixie's reaction if he were to say such a silly thing out loud. So he just said, "My band is going to perform again, in a contest this time. If we do well, we could be on TV, and the whole country will hear our music." He smiled deeper. "It's an amazing opportunity."

Allegro watched him for what seemed like a small eternity, something Clef couldn't recognize in his eyes. And just when Clef was about to ask him what was up, Allegro asked, "Do you want my help again?"

An "Oh" fell stupidly from Clef's mouth before he answered, "I'm... not really sure we need it." Not that they played perfectly, of course, but near the end of practicing for the festival, Allegro really hadn't had much coaching to do. The band members knew what to do, it was just a matter of practicing until they could do it without faltering and ingraining every note and chord into the muscle memory of their hands. Clef didn't think it would be worth Allegro's trouble to have to sneak around and watch them for, ultimately, no reason, especially when he had been so moody lately. "We're doing the same songs as before, so you don't have to worry about it," Clef finished with an encouraging smile. "You can chill at home and relax this time."

Again, Allegro simply regarded him in silence, and then his eyes darkened as he turned into his room and closed the door.

The following day was a typical work-then-practice day – or as typical as it could be with Clef needing to be chauffeured around everywhere. Practice still held the excitement and urgency of preparing for a performance – a contest, no less – but Clef was quiet. He tried to be into it, tried to give his music his full attention, but he couldn't get Allegro out of his mind. There had been something sad or lost in the pixie's liquid gray eyes, and Clef's heart ached as he searched for something he could do for Allegro. He moved through the songs on autopilot while his mind only replayed images of Allegro, Allegro, Allegro.

When practice was declared finished for the night, Lan asked if Gaku could wait outside for a moment so that he could speak with Clef alone, and for the first time that evening, Clef's attention was fully on the people around him. Gaku nodded and stepped out without a word, not seeming surprised in the least at the request, as if something had passed between them that Clef hadn't noticed.

His heart raced as hard as his stomach churned when Clef found himself alone with Lan. He tried to play as casual as possible, but he could feel his brows knit together as he asked, "What's up?"

"Are you alright?" Lan asked, genuine concern in his eyes and voice.

"Y-Yeah," Clef answered. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You've been really quiet today and... You know you can talk to me about anything, right?"

Clef's chest ached. Lan's kindness and compassion drew people to him as much as his face did, and it had Clef falling for him all over again. Lan always looked out for others, and that, more than anything, was why Clef liked him so much. He would do almost anything to have that kindness by his side; he may have spilled every demon in his heart if he could have Lan hold him and coax it all out of him with those gentle, blue eyes. But he would never have him; he didn't deserve him. It was almost a cruel tease for Lan to look at him like that while they were alone together.

It wasn't like he could tell Lan anything, anyways.

"I'm fine," Clef answered, forcing a smile. "Just a little nervous about the show."

Lan stared at him a moment, blinking slowly, until he eventually took a step back and nodded. "All right. Well, you'll do great, so don't worry." He gave a smile that said he didn't believe Clef at all, but wasn't going to pry.

Clef smiled back, just as strained, then said goodbye and headed out.

Being home only faced Clef with the actual source of his distraction. Quiet and cold, Allegro ate the dinner Clef heated up for them in silence, barely looking at Clef, as if trying to ignore him.

"If we make it to the higher levels of the contest, the band and I will have to travel to other parts of the country," Clef tried, missing the conversations they once had. When Allegro only shrugged in response, Clef added, "You can come too, if you want."

Allegro only shrugged again, and Clef thought of how supportive, how _kind_ Lan had been just a few hours before, trying to get Clef to open up. So, he took a deep breath, put his fork down, and asked, "Are you alright?"

Allegro's eyes glanced at him for a bare second before quickly turning away again. "I'm fine."

Clef acutely understood how Lan must have felt when Clef had lied to him about being "fine," though it wasn't like he could have told Lan he was having pixie problems. "If something is bothering you, you can tell me," Clef tried again. "I... I want to be able to help you."

Suddenly enough to take Clef by surprise, Allegro sprang to his feet and threw down the piece of garlic toast he had been picking at. There was anger blazing in his gray eyes, but also something pained, or perhaps scared. "Mind your own business!" Allegro yelled, and then he took off, flying toward his private sanctuary.

Without thinking about it, moving on reflex, Clef's hand shot out and caught Allegro in the air, calling out, "Wait!"

"Don't _touch_ me!" Allegro snapped, complexion going pink, flushed. Clef let go as quickly as he had reached out, and Allegro flitted back several inches. He hung in the air just long enough to burn through Clef's heart with a searing glare, and then he turned and fled back into his room.

Clef's arm fell limp to his side. He hurt. He didn't know what was wrong with Allegro or what he could do about it. He didn't know why it upset him so much – if Allegro wanted to be a pissy brat, Clef should just let him. Allegro had only ever been rude to him anyway; his life would be so much easier if the pixie took his issues elsewhere.

He couldn't just write Allegro off, though. Instead of kicking the pixie out or telling him off, Clef skipped out on practice the following day. He called Lan, spinning some story about an old friend who was going through a hard time, and said he wanted to be there for him. It was half true, anyway.

He didn't have work either, so would be able to spend the whole day with Allegro, treating him, spoiling him, doing whatever he could to try and get the pixie to open up to him. In the morning, he picked up all of Allegro's favorite flavors from Pomme de Donuts, as well as a steaming cup of fresh coffee, but that yielded no response. In the late afternoon, he got a pizza, calling through Allegro's door that it had extra pepperoni as he tried to fan the scent in the pixie's direction.

No response came, and as his heart sank, Clef tossed the pizza box onto his desk roughly and glared at it a moment. Then he turned, going back to stare at the closed door of Allegro's room. He was beginning to hate that door, and was on the verge of tearing the whole fucking thing apart.

"Allegro," he said a little too sharply. He swallowed, then said, "Please come out. I want to talk with you." And when still no response came, his voice rose. " _Please_."

Silence reigned, and then he snapped. " _Alleg_ -"

His temper froze as quickly as his voice did when a knock came to his bedroom door. With wide eyes, Clef slowly turned his gaze to stare at where the sound had come from, and a second knock spurred him into moving towards it.

It was Gaku, and Clef wanted to mentally kick himself. He had forgotten all about calling Gaku to let him know he wouldn't need a ride. "Hey," Clef said, trying to play casual. "I am _so_ sorry that I forgot to tell you, but I'm not going to practice today."

"Everything okay?" Gaku asked.

"Yeah," Clef answered, launching into his excuse. "An old friend of mind is having some trouble and I need to help him out." Then when Gaku began looking around the room, apparently searching for the purported 'friend', Clef stepped out and closed the door behind him. "I was just about to go visit him."

Gaku's head tilted like a confused puppy.

"I'm really sorry," Clef said again. Then he began to lead Gaku upstairs, explaining, "I already told Lan, so he knows what's going on. I know it's really bad timing, but I promise it's only for one day. Just... He needs me, ya know?"

Gaku nodded, and once they reached the front door, they gave their parting greetings. Clef thanked Gaku for coming anyway, and apologized again for making him waste his time, and then he watched until Gaku's little car was heading off down the street.

"You should have invited him for dinner," Grandma said from her living room recliner. "I wanted to spend some time with him."

"You are a married woman," Clef replied, lip twitching up.

"I can still look!"

Clef shook his head though his lips held a smile. "Calm yourself." The interruption and banter had calmed him, though, and he returned to his room ready to try talking, coaxing, _pleading_ for Allegro to come out and tell him what was wrong.

He found Allegro sitting on the ledge of his shelf, arms crossed over his chest, and Clef's heart thudded at seeing the pixie at last. He smiled gently and asked, "How are you feeling?"

"Do you want to mate with that guy?"

"W-Wh-What!?" Clef sputtered, feeling his ears go hot. "No! He's just a friend!"

Allegro's brows furrowed into a scowl; his head tilted back as his eyes narrowed, as if he didn't believe Clef's denial. "But he's pretty."

Clef's eyes widened a moment, but then everything seemed to stop around him. If he didn't know any better, he would swear it sounded like Allegro was jealous. He was aware that Allegro had issues with his own appearance, believing himself to be ugly because of some strange pixie standards that Clef couldn't even begin to understand, but if that – if jealousy – had anything to do with Allegro's recent withdrawn moodiness, Clef didn't get why it was showing itself _now_ , and why over Gaku, of all people.

So Clef focused back on Allegro, meeting his gaze, and calmly said, "I just don't have that sort of attraction to him, even if he is _pretty_. Gaku and I are just friends." He saw Allegro swallow hard, his tiny brows easing up a bit, and it was a relief. Then he asked, "Why are you jealous over Gaku, but not Lan?"

Allegro was up in an instant, a snarl on his lip as his small body hunched in a defensive posture. Anger and fear both blazed in his eyes, and he all but growled, "I'm not jealous!" Then he flew back into his room, shutting the door behind him, leaving Clef alone again.

For a brief moment, Clef thought he should leave Allegro be, but he was fed up. His temper flared back to life, and he snapped at the closed door. "You're a liar! There's obviously something wrong with you and you won't even fucking tell me! I skipped practice even though we have a contest coming up just to spend time with you, and you're just going to fucking ignore me!? I'm _worried_ about you! God _damn_! I just want to talk to you! I thought you _trusted_ me!" He huffed a growl, then snarled, " _Allegro_!"

No response came, and just as Clef was about to tear the makeshift wall right off the fucking bookcase, music began to play. Beautiful notes rang from Allegro's violin, a sad song that swirled with confusion and anger. It made Clef's heart break, helpless to understand what was going on and unable to do anything.

He whirled around and pulled back a leg to kick the frame of his bed, but the anger drained out of him, leaving only pain. His leg lowered, and he pressed a hand to his eyes, holding back tears as the anguished music wrapped around him.


	13. Chapter 13

"I'll leave the door unlocked, so if you want to go out, you can."

That had been the last thing Clef said to Allegro, and then he stopped trying. At the time he meant that he would leave the door unlocked so that Allegro could get food for himself, since he wouldn't eat with Clef anymore, but he realized it also meant Allegro could leave altogether if he wanted. Clef didn't know what he would do if he came home one day and didn't find tissues in Allegro's toilet or candy wrappers in the garbage, but each day that went by with no words passing between them, he prepared his heart for the inevitable a little more.

He hadn't prepared for a more dramatic fallout.

The worst kind of dark feeling came over him the day Katie offered him a ride home after a shared early shift and they pulled up to find Jacob's car in the driveway. He had almost forgotten it was Friday.

"Shit."

Katie laughed at the single-word comment. "Company?"

"My brother's here," Clef answered. "Probably dropping off his little shitheads."

Katie put the car into park in front of the driveway, unable to pull in, so that Clef could climb out. "Good luck."

Clef's "Thanks" was half-hearted, but Katie would get it. He had bitched about the kids who ran his family enough times for even a mother to know that them being around spelled trouble for Clef.

The boys _not_ being in the living room, where the household's only game system was, only made the bile churning in Clef's gut worse, and he stormed towards his room with only a grunt in greeting as he passed his brother and grandparents in the kitchen.

Sure enough, his bedroom light was on and the door wide open. Donnie was going through one of his piles of stuff, and looked up with a gasp of horror when he saw Clef pounding towards the room. Even worse – worse than anything – Clef stepped into the room to see Danny standing on his desk chair, which had been pushed over to the bookcase, and reaching into Allegro's room.

Clef's vision went red, his eyes hot as his heart leapt into his throat, and he roared, "What the _fuck_ are you doing in here!?" Fuck lectures about swearing in front of the precious _fucking_ children.

Danny's arm shot back as if he had been bitten, and his eyes went wide as he turned to Clef. "I just wanted to look at the doll in there."

"Then you _ask_ me! You don't just barge in here and do what you want! You have no _right_ to be in my room!"

"Then... Can I see your doll?"

"Get the fuck _out_!!" Clef screamed as he kicked the side of the bookcase, tearing a hole in the side of the lowest shelf and scaring the shit out of the two little fucks, who took off out of the room like they were under fire. Then Clef's hands buried into his hair, clenching tight as he bellowed out a drawn-out, " _Fuuuuck_!!" screaming out his rage before he had a complete mental breakdown.

After a final growl, throat sore and raw, Clef slammed his bedroom door shut, and then he moved to Allegro's shelf and looked in. He found Allegro pressed against the far back of the bookcase, cowering in a corner. His eyes were wide, but his brows were drawn together, looking both terrified and angry, and there was little doubt that if Clef had arrived a second later, Allegro _would_ have lashed out and bitten Danny, even if it meant revealing himself as a living thing. Seeing the strong-willed pixie looking _so_ scared hurt Clef's heart as much as anything else going on between them lately did.

"Are you alright?" Clef asked softly, his voice like gravel from the screaming fit.

Allegro didn't answer, only stayed in his tight crouch, shaking.

Clef's heart shattered completely. "Stay there," he instructed, as if Allegro seemed at all inclined to move. "Don't leave... Please." Then, after a final, concerned glance at the terrified pixie, he wrenched his gaze away and headed upstairs.

His family sitting pretty at the kitchen table like everything was fine made Clef's tenuous grip on his temper slip, and with his lips sealed tight, he began to slam shit around as he put a pot of coffee on to brew. He bashed a plastic bowl onto the counter hard enough to echo throughout the house, and practically threw a handful of strawberries into it. Every one of his movements had extra force behind it, fueled by rage as he prepared as many of Allegro's favorite snacks as he could think of.

"Sorry the kids went into your room," Jacob said as Clef pulled some chocolate candies from the kitchen snack drawer and tossed them in with the strawberries. Clef didn't respond, trying to keep himself from saying something that might get him thrown out.

"They didn't hurt anything," Grandma added dismissively, and Clef _slammed_ a coffee mug onto the counter, because they _had_ hurt something. They hurt Allegro's sense of security and his _pride_ , and may very well have destroyed the trust Allegro had put in Clef to keep him secret and secure.

Clef poured what coffee had been brewed so far into the mug, then shoved the carafe back onto the coffee maker. Then he took up the small bowl of treats and the mug of coffee, and then finally he snapped, "Keep your little shits _out_ of my room" before storming past them, back to his downstairs cave.

He didn't look into Allegro's room again, feeling as though the pixie was likely done with having humans invade his space for a while. So Clef simply slid the small bowl of strawberries and chocolates into the makeshift room, then turned to set the coffee on his desk and look for Allegro's mug.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Allegro's upper body appear as the pixie pushed the bowl out of his room, dumping strawberries all over the floor. The rejection of his attempt to comfort Allegro stung, a biting jab to his heart, and Clef whirled, already on the verge of blowing up.

"What are you doing!?" Clef yelled, temper still racing full-throttle. "I gave those to you to comfort you!"

"I don't want comfort!" Allegro yelled back. "I want to be left alone!"

"I'm sorry! I didn't know the kids would be coming over today. I thought you would be _happy_ if you could leave the room for a bit." Though, if his head were on straight, he would have remembered it was Friday, and they always came on Friday. He had been so concerned with the contest and Allegro's silence, his mind had been little more than a haze of puttering neurons for the past week.

"I would be _happy_ if everyone would just go away."

"If you hate it so much, then _leave_!" Clef snapped. He regretted it, though; he didn't mean it. If Allegro left, he would be devastated. "I'm doing the best I can to keep you safe and provide for you! I even clean out your fucking _toilet_!"

"And what are you getting out of it!?" Allegro screamed back, flitting forward, aggressive.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"You do oh-so- _much_ for me, but I can't repay you."

"You don't have to."

"Then I'm nothing more than a pet to you."

Clef's heart broke again for reasons he couldn't understand. " _No_ , you're _not_."

"Than what am I!?"

Clef stopped without an answer, completely lost for what to say. To say pet would imply he thought Allegro was beneath him, but Clef had never felt that way, and had never treated Allegro as such. Or, at least he hoped he hadn't.

Before Clef could respond or even figure out for himself the answer to Allegro's question, a small, tentative knock came to the door. The whole world seemed to pause, neither Clef nor Allegro moving, until another knock came, slightly stronger, knowing they were in there.

A look of pain, as deep and twisting as the ache in Clef's chest, settled in Allegro's eyes, making Clef's throat close up as Allegro flew back into his room and closed the door.

After swallowing the heavy lump in his throat, Clef moved to answer his own door, opening it to see Gaku standing there with a frown on his face. "H-Hey," Clef croaked out, then cleared his throat.

"Fighting?" Gaku questioned simply, and Clef wanted to smack himself once again. Gaku must have heard the shouting all the way from the top of the stairs, flimsy as Clef's bedroom walls were, as makeshift a room as Allegro's was. Clef had been too involved with arguing to realize anyone could have heard him and thought he was insane.

"Oh, that was the TV," Clef said, pushing out a smile. And when Gaku looked towards the blank television set, Clef quickly added, "I turned it off just now," a lie as flimsy as his walls. He couldn’t be bothered to try and think of something more believable – his mind was too busy considering if he should skip practice again. He could take the evening to try and talk to Allegro, try and figure out what was wrong, try to give an answer to his question.

Or maybe they would spend the evening fighting, or worse – maybe he would just be ignored again.

In the end, Clef decided to just go to practice. He had to at least try to focus on the contest for a bit, and it would give Allegro time to cool off and calm down. So, he grabbed his bass and flipped off the light, hesitating only for a second before locking the door.

The car ride started off silent, as it often was, but then suddenly Clef asked, "You remember how I mentioned last week that I had an old friend who was going through some stuff?" At Gaku's nod, he continued with, "Well, I've been trying to help him out, but now he's mad at me because he can't repay me or something. I told him he doesn't need to repay me, but then he said I'm treating him like a pet."

"A pet?" Gaku's head tilted.

Something in the question made Clef's face warm. "To comfort him, I've been bringing him snacks and helping him clean his room and stuff."

"When you help your friend... you're happy?"

"Well... yeah," Clef answered. "I want him to feel better."

There was a moment of gentle quiet, and then Gaku smiled. "It's nice to feel needed."

Clef considered those words all through practice. It wasn't like he was trying to help Allegro for some sense of self-gratification – he really just wanted Allegro to feel better, so they could go back to the way they were, talking together and learning together, playing music together. At the same time, it was true that it had elated Clef every time Allegro responded positively to any of his gestures of friendship. It was natural, just like how Allegro had been pleased when he helped out for the rock fest.

Clef's hands stopped moving and his mouth fell open a bit. It _was_ nice to feel needed, and when Allegro had offered his help again for the contest, Clef had turned him down, essentially telling him he wasn't needed. But Clef sure was needed to Allegro if the pixie wished to remain hidden. It was no wonder Allegro was feeling useless.

An unsettled feeling came over Clef, and his eyes and mind came back into focus. The music room was silent, and he looked around to see his bandmates staring at him. "Sorry," Clef said. He had, admittedly, been distracted all evening, and then had stopped playing altogether, and now was _not_ the time to be flaking out during practice.

"Do you actually have a secret boyfriend?" Cade asked.

Clef's face went hot. "Of course not!" he snipped back. Then his gaze drifted to Lan, who gave him an encouraging smile.

He stood before that small, eternally-closed door again, almost regretting having ever built it, though rationally he knew it was the best thing in the world for Allegro. He could only hope it would open this time.

"Allegro," Clef called, and then waited. His heart sank when no response came, but he took a breath and clutched tight to his resolve. "Look, you're not a pet to me, and if I ever made you feel that way, I'm sorry. If you want to know what you are to me, well..." His heart thudded hard. "You're my _friend_. Or, at least I hope so. And I want my friends to be happy. I want to help you, as a _friend_. And I know... Or, I think that you want to be helpful too. I could always use help improving my music, so if you would like to coach me again, I would appreciate it."

Everything fell silent as Clef stood still, hardly daring to breathe as he waited for a response. A minute passed, another, perhaps a few more, and still the silence reigned. Eventually, Clef's shoulders slumped – he was being ignored again.

Then the little door burst open, and Clef smiled. It was short-lived, though, as Allegro came barreling out of his room and kicked Clef in the face, hard enough to actually sting. "It's too late for that!" Allegro snapped. "You didn't want my help! You don't need me! Asking for it now is insincere and _meaningless_!"

As Allegro's tirade poured out of him, Clef's hand moved up slowly. He didn't even realize he was doing it, moving unconsciously, dream-like. Allegro didn't seem to notice either, too into his lecture – or perhaps his wetter than usual eyes didn't see the reaching hand until it wrapped lightly around him in something of an embrace.

"I could leave any time!" Allegro continued to yell. "I don't need you! I don't want to feel like I'm indebted to you! Why can't you just leave me alo-"

Without even thinking about it, Clef suddenly leaned down and kissed Allegro on the head, instantly shutting the pixie up. They stayed like that a moment, Clef relishing the silken hair, petal-soft against his lips, until he realized what he was doing and pulled away.

Allegro was flushed pink with blush, mouth agape and silent, and Clef could feel his own face burning as well. "S-Sorry..." he said as his hand slowly opened, setting Allegro free.

Silently, speechless, Allegro floated away, out of Clef's reach, and disappeared into his room, a look of pain on his face that would burn into Clef's mind forever.

Clef dropped his head into his hands, trying to mentally kick himself in the ass. He couldn't even begin to understand why he did that. He was embarrassed with himself, but even more so, he was angry at himself. How _uncomfortable_ he must have made Allegro. He wouldn't be surprised if the pixie left for good now, and Clef would have no one to blame but himself.

He went upstairs to the silence and solitude of the kitchen. The kids were gone – someone must have used their brain for once and realized what a bad idea it would have been to let them stay the night after how pissed Clef was before – and his grandparents had retreated to their own rooms. After pouring himself a mug of what was left of the coffee he had made before, Clef sat at the table, sipping the microwave-heated coffee as his thoughts swirled around in his head until they nearly consumed him.

With a frustrated growl, Clef then pulled out his phone, firing up 'Rock Show' in a grand attempt to distract himself for a bit. It was only half successful – he was decent enough at the game that he didn't really have to think about what he was doing when he played, fingers moving automatically, instinctively. He barely saw the screen in front of him – the _tap tap tap_ of notes hit perfectly barely registered in his ears – while the only thing on his mind was Allegro's beautiful and melancholy face. His heart ached as he tapped away at the song that played, finishing it off with a master combo and staring blankly at his phone for a moment before realizing the song was over. He started up another, fingers taking position as the game counted down to the music's start.

Perhaps he should beg or plead. Not for Allegro to talk with him – that was already a lost cause – but simply for the pixie to stay. Even if Allegro ignored him for the rest of his life, so long as he was _there_ Clef would make do somehow. As long as Allegro was there...

The game beneath his fingers began to cheer, drawing Clef's attention to the screen as digital confetti began to fall. He thought he would never see that cute animation again, but there it was, characters dancing as ' _New High Score!_ ' shone in gold across the screen.

Clef's eyes went wide and his jaw dropped as he registered what had happened, and then he broke out into a smile. He had done it – he had beat Allegro's score.

He jumped to his feet and raced down the stairs, grinning excited. He felt accomplished, like he had defeated a final boss. And when he was in his room, once again facing that little wall, he held up his phone to the closed door. "Look!" Clef said out loud. "I got a new high score!"

There was no response, and Clef's smile fell. He had gotten too hopeful in his excitement, as if this silly game could erase Allegro's anger and Clef's mistake. His arm lowered, fingers going loose around his phone, close to dropping it. Then his hand clenched, gripping the device like a lifeline. "Allegro," he said, voice cracking.

A whimper stopped him from saying more, small and pained. A groan followed.

"Allegro?" Clef said again, worry and trepidation coloring his voice. It sounded like Allegro was hurt, but Clef was torn between checking on him and respecting the pixie's privacy. Until another whimper made the decision for him, the phone dropping from his hand to reach up and gently pull the door open.

Inside the small enclosure of the makeshift room, he saw Allegro on his knees, doubled over and gripping the side of the wine box bed with one hand, the other hand jammed between his thighs. His whole complexion flushed pink like a fever, and his eyes were clenched tightly shut, brows pulled together in anguish.

"Are- Are you okay?" Clef asked stupidly. When Allegro only groaned in response, Clef's heart thudded, worry coursing through him. If Allegro were sick or dying... he would have no idea what to do.

Carefully, Clef reached in and wrapped his hand around Allegro. Though he had been told not to touch, he had to get a better look. If Allegro were choking or injured, maybe he could help, but he couldn't just let him suffer. He had to do something, even if it made Allegro hate him even more.

Allegro's hands clutched Clef's finger tight as he was moved over to the bed, but when he was laid out on top of the comforter, there was no visible sign of injury. The pixie panted quite a bit, but his breathing didn't seem to be obstructed at all. But when Clef pulled his hand away, pulling from Allegro's grasp, Allegro's hands flew to his crotch again, whimpering once more as his tiny fists pressed against his groin and his knees pulled up, curling in on himself.

Pulse racing, confused and almost scared, Clef carefully, as if handling the finest crystal, took hold of Allegro's arms and pulled them away, holding them above the pixie's head.

And then his eyes went wide again.

It was small, but it was there, tenting the doll pants Allegro wore. He was hard, his erection straining against the cheap fabric. The panting and whimpering were all from a burning need that couldn't be eased. Clef remembered what Allegro had told him before, that when the desire to mate struck a pixie, it hit them _hard_ , but he couldn't have imagined it would be so painful and heartbreaking. Allegro looked as though he might die if he didn't get some relief, but it wasn't like there were any other pixies around to help out.

Clef bit his lip, eyes going warm even though he never used to be much of a crier. Seeing Allegro in so much pain, wondering if he would lose him like this, though... It broke him. And though he didn't know if it would do any good, he brought a finger down and pressed it against Allegro's crotch.

Allegro _moaned_ , a lewd sound that had Clef flushing with embarrassment even as he began to dare have hope. He rubbed the tiny erection beneath his fingertip, and Allegro's hips pushed up into it, the pixie gasping as his body sought gratification. It was working; Clef just might be able to save Allegro.

He pulled his finger away and Allegro whined, urging Clef to quickly tug off Allegro's pants, freeing the tiny, leaking erection. He removed the shirt too, carefully slipping Allegro's delicate wings through the cut-in slits and then setting the clothes aside. Taking a moment to look Allegro over, Clef was struck once again by just how _beautiful_ the pixie was. His gray skin was smooth and evenly-colored, his long hair soft as it fanned out on the bed. And the sounds he was making...

A loud groan brought Clef back to his task, and he steeled himself, took a deep breath, and then leaned down and licked Allegro's needy cock.

The response was immediate. Allegro gasped, long and loud, and his hips thrust up against Clef's tongue. And when Clef lapped at him again, Allegro cried out as his hands gripped the blanket beneath him in tight fists. The erotic sounds encouraged Clef, spurring him to lick more, apply more pressure, and even take the nub between his lips as best he could, though he didn't really know what he was doing. He had never given a blow job before, and in the few times he had thought about it, he had certainly never imagined it like _this_.

It must have been good enough, though, given the way Allegro cried out and moaned, hips pumping, needy, desperate for the relief he would find in Clef's mouth. Clef pursed his lips, tightening them around Allegro's dick, making Allegro release a drawn-out groan that shivered though Clef's body, straight to his crotch.

Then Allegro's breathing hitched up. His body thrashed, going wild with lust, and his hips pumped fast, like a small animal moving purely on instinct. So Clef pulled back and let his tongue hang out, allowing Allegro to thrust against it as he liked. When Allegro brought his hands down and tried to grip Clef's tongue as if to breed it, Clef again took the pixie's arms and held them down, restraining him in gentle bonds. Allegro hardly seemed to notice the bit of restraint as he continued to fuck against Clef's tongue.

Allegro's breath became huffed panting, mingled with the occasional gasp or moan. Each sound had an affect on Clef, burning into him like a brand. Then Allegro cried out loudly, and his hips thrust once more, pressing hard, holding tight. Warmth splashed across Clef's tongue, hardly enough to taste, but perhaps it was a lot by pixie standards.

Allegro panted heavy, and then his hips fell back to the bed. The tension in his arms seemed to drain out of him beneath Clef's fingers, and he went slack. Clef only waited with held breath, almost fearing what the response would be when Allegro came to.

The panting faded, the world went still, and then Allegro's response came in the form of a kick to the face, curled foot connecting with Clef's jaw with all the force of a wet noodle. And Clef smiled – feisty and abrasive was far better than whimpering in pain.

But then Allegro suddenly sat up and moved away, scrambling across the bedspread to sit with his back turned to Clef. And Clef's smile fell. Now Allegro would start ignoring him again, or maybe he would leave altogether, leaving Clef alone. He promised himself he wouldn’t regret what he had done either way, so long as Allegro wasn't suffering anymore.

A heavy silence reigned, and then Allegro looked over his shoulder, the glare in his eyes subverted by the pout on his lip. "Thank you," he muttered quietly.

Clef's heart thudded, but he smiled softly. "Don't worry about it."

Allegro turned back away, silent for a moment before he said, "That's never happened to me before, and-" A beat. "I don't know what's wrong with me." Then, before Clef could even start to formulate a response, Allegro lifted from the bed and flew to his room, softly closing the door behind him.

Clef felt... unsettled. At least Allegro had spoken to him, without anger or jealousy, and had sort-of acknowledged that there was something wrong. If he had any intention of letting Clef help him figure out what it was, though, Clef didn't know.

At the moment, however, there was another growing problem that Clef could resolve. His hand went to his crotch, thumbing the bulge there as he headed to the privacy of the bathroom.

It happened again, two nights later.

This time, Allegro was the one to come to him, crash-landing onto his pillow just as Clef had started to fall asleep. His panting breath was heavy as he said, "It's- It's happening again. Please- ..." So Clef licked and sucked Allegro until the pixie cried out his release, then rolled over and fell asleep on Clef's pillow.

Clef had smiled at that, though it was mostly out of relief. "Typical man," he said into the darkness. He didn't bother going to the bathroom to jerk himself off that night.

Then the whole scene played out again in the morning, Clef waking up to a moaning, needy pixie who didn't seem to know how to relieve himself.

Each time it happened, Clef found himself with a raging hard-on of his own, the whole situation strange and erotic, setting his body aflame. It was a natural reaction, so he told himself, to a blatantly sexual circumstance. Someone would have to be completely asexual to not get turned on by the sounds Allegro made when his dick was being tongue-fucked.

The eye of Clef's mind now supplied him with two images to stroke himself off to. As he sat on the closed lid of the toilet seat, teeth clenched tightly shut so he wouldn't cry out too loudly while running his hand up and down the length of his leaking erection, he saw the usual images of Lan, blond hair falling forward as he knelt on all-fours. Lan, with his perfect smile and sparkling eyes, laying underneath him, holding his knees tightly to his chest as he accepted Clef into him.

And then came the images of Allegro, panting and moaning, made all the more vivid in his mind because they were based on something real. His cock throbbed harder when he thought of Allegro, his hand squeezed tighter, and though later he would torment himself over whether this changed their relationship or not, at the moment, he was too lost in self-inflicted pleasure to think about much of anything.

When he came, creating a mess on the tile floor as he stifled a groan, it was to the image – the _memory_ – of Allegro's cute and sexy cries and his little spurt of cum.

He didn't want anything to change, though.

He had helped Allegro in a time of need, but it didn't have to mean anything. They were friends, and friends helped each other. Allegro's case was special, sure, but it didn't have to make them anything different than what they had always been. So, when Allegro joined him for dinner at last, mood still seeming sour and refusing to get too close, it made Clef's heart soar.

They ate in silence at first, or at least _Clef_ ate, pretending to casually surf the internet while all-too-aware of the pixie sitting on the other side of the desk. Allegro mostly picked at his portion of food, though he did eat some, which was good.

"I don't know what's wrong with me," Allegro said suddenly, a line he had used that first time he had been found hard and whimpering. "My body gets so... hot."

Clef had a better understanding of that now. "You mean that... that need to mate?" And when Allegro nodded, Clef said, "Maybe you're going through puberty." Though, he was half joking.

"Puberty?"

Clef's lip quirked up. Despite everything, the moment felt like before, back when they would talk about anything and Clef would have to explain human terms to him. "It's a period of time when a person's body changes from a child to an adult, and they get ready to start breeding."

Allegro snorted. "My body became adult a century ago. Still never felt like breeding."

His eyes widened, but only for a moment. A mythical creature _would_ have a long lifespan, because of course. "Maybe it's because of the human food."

A frown touched Allegro's face. "Maybe it's because of you."

Something painful shot through Clef's heart, but he forced a smile. "Ha ha, right. We're not even the same species."

Allegro remained silent, eyes turning away. The subject was dropped.


	14. Chapter 14

Their relationship became something of a façade of what it was before. They would eat together, but didn't talk as much. Mostly, Allegro just watched Clef, though he would look away as if he hadn't been when Clef looked his way. Clef was still forbidden from touching Allegro, and Allegro kept his distance, just to be sure. It left Clef feeling... lonely, and he wondered just when he had grown so needy for the pixie's attention.

And when Gaku came to pick Clef up for practice, Allegro would float off to his room with that hurt look on his face, still jealous.

He saw a chance to cheer Allegro up when his grandparents announced they were driving to Apfelwein to spend some time with relatives there, and would be gone for about a week. Clef would be home "alone," and even before they finished telling him of their plans, he was already planning on releasing Allegro to the entire house, giving the pixie the space and freedom he hadn't had in a long while.

Clef couldn't help the smile plastered on his face when he relayed the news to Allegro, but it faded when the response was a simple, lukewarm, "So?"

"So while they're gone, you'll be able to fly around and explore the whole house," Clef answered, struggling to not be completely crestfallen.

"Not with that black beast around."

"We'll put the cat outside when I'm home. When I'm at work or practice, we can close the door to the basement and no one will be around to open it, so you'll at least have the whole downstairs to yourself. And the kids won't be coming over, so you don't have to worry about them, either."

Allegro seemed to consider it for a moment, and then, eventually, shrugged.

He hadn't gotten Allegro to smile, which should have been expected, but Clef still felt a beat of hope drift through him as he wished his grandparents safe travels and watched them pull out of the driveway. He continued to watch even minutes after their car had disappeared down the street, and then turned to find the "black beast," who was sitting on a windowsill, staring out at the yard that he would soon be cast out in.

"Sorry, bud," Clef said as he hefted the overweight cat into his arms. "But you're a menace." He scratched between Tom's ears as he strode over to the front door, then deposited him onto the porch. Tom seemed to look around, then just plopped down, content to resume his vigil from the new location. Clef could only smile; it must be nice to be a cat.

Then Clef went to his room and faced Allegro's door. "Everyone is gone, and the cat is outside," he said. "You can go anywhere you want." When Allegro didn't come out, Clef added, "I'll be upstairs if you need me."

It was still pretty early in the day, his grandparents having wanted to get an early start on their trip. Clef would have practice later on, but he didn't have work that day, so he had a few hours free. So he scrounged around in the fridge, looking for something to turn into breakfast, eventually deciding on eggs and a whole mountain of bacon. Clef wasn't a fantastic cook, but he wasn't bad either. He was just good enough to be able to survive if he ever managed to live on his own.

His lip quirked up as he set the table with a plate for himself and a teacup saucer for Allegro. A mug of coffee for himself and the doll mug for Allegro. A set of silverware for himself and extra napkins for Allegro, who only ever ate with his hands. It was a cute table setting, and with a dusting of warmth across his cheeks, he realized how domestic it was, in its own, weird little way.

If he did manage to move out on his own, would Allegro come with him? It wasn't like the pixie had anywhere else to go.

Clef was struck suddenly by just how much he wanted that, an idea that captivated him so hard it was almost overwhelming. Just a small apartment would be fine, and Allegro could still have his own space. They could talk freely without interruptions or hiding. No kids would be around to scream and holler and get into his shit; they could have peace and quiet. He could even get a potted tree so Allegro could use the bathroom his own way.

... Or... maybe not that.

But it would be nice, for sure.

Allegro flew cautiously into the kitchen, first peeking around the corner and surveying the room with sharp, alert eyes, just as Clef began dishing out their food. His tiny nose twitched as he came out into the open, smelling the freshly-cooked bacon, no doubt, and Clef realized this was the first time Allegro had ever been in this part of the house without having to be hidden under clothes or in Clef's coat.

"We can eat here, for once," Clef said, giving a comforting smile. "I promise it's just us."

Allegro's dainty, curled feet touched down on the kitchen table, still looking out, not yet ready to relax, but he did ultimately sit in front of his saucer and begin to eat.

Though Clef relished the rare times he was left alone with the house, it wasn't like he ever did anything differently when his family was gone. After breakfast, he cleaned up, then retreated to his room to sit in front of his computer like always. Maybe at some point he would sit in the living room and play 'Rock Show' while lounging in Grandma's recliner, or take his small amp upstairs to play his bass, but it wasn't like he ran around the house naked or anything like that. His habits would stay the same as always, but there was a sense of freedom in knowing that nobody would barge in on him, berate him, or lecture him.

When it neared the time that Gaku would come to pick him up, Clef returned upstairs. Allegro hadn't followed him down, so Clef assumed the pixie was off exploring somewhere. He softly called out "Allegro?" to the nearly-empty house. It took a moment, but eventually Allegro appeared from down the hall that led to his grandparents' rooms.

Clef smiled at the wide-eyed pixie. "I'll be going to practice soon, so you might want to head back to the basement.

Allegro was silent a moment, then simply gave a snort before flitting off towards the stairs.

Busying himself by gathering food for Allegro to munch on while he was out, Clef had just set a plate of snacks on the kitchen table when a knock came to the front door. He opened it to a smiling Gaku, who held Tom in his arms, the big cat rubbing his face against Gaku's chin.

"Hey," Clef greeted, stepping back to invite Gaku in. "Just let me go grab my bass and we can go." And at Gaku's acknowledging nod, Clef moved to pass through the kitchen, grabbing the plate as he went. He gave a parting call to Allegro after he had set the plate on his desk and grabbed his guitar, and when he left the basement, he left all the lights on, since nobody would know to bitch at him about it. He closed the door at the top of the stairs, which was usually open on a permanent basis, leaving the whole basement safe for Allegro's exploration.

The house was locked up, Tom safely back inside, and they were on their way.

At practice, Lan was unusually jittery and distracted. It made Clef wonder if that was how he looked the days he had been spaced out, worrying about Allegro, and he wondered if there was something weighing on Lan's mind in the same way.

They found out once practice was called closed for the night. As they packed up their things to go, Lan announced, "We'll have to cancel practice Sunday night. It's Lindsay's birthday, so I'm going to take her out for dinner." He listed from one foot to the other like an excited child after he had spoken.

"A'ight, that's cool," Cade replied, speaking for the rest of them.

The room stayed silent for a beat; there was clearly more to come. And it came in the form of Lan saying, "And..."

Silence, and then Cade prompted, " _And_?"

Lan grinned as his hand slipped into his pocket, then pulled out a small, black box. The next words out of his mouth were no surprise, though they stung all the same. "I'm going to ask her to marry me." He opened the box to reveal a plain, gold ring, set with a small diamond. Simple yet elegant; it would look lovely on Lindsay's slim finger.

"Congrats, man!" Cade called as he slapped Lan on the arm. He grinned broadly as he made Lan promise to let him be Best Man in the wedding. Gaku smiled bright as well, giving his support and congratulations in the form of patting Lan on the head like a pup who had performed a new trick. And Lan couldn’t hold back his excitement, saying how he knew they were still pretty young, but felt now was the right time.

Clef forced a smile, even as his heart broke. It was stupid to get upset about it – it wasn't like Lan and Lindsay being in a relationship was anything new; it wasn't like Lan had chosen Lindsay over him, because there was never a choice to be made. It wasn't even surprising that they would eventually get married. It was well beyond Clef not standing a chance, as obvious as a fish being torn from the water suffocating to death, and yet it still hurt. It took a strength Clef wasn't sure he had to push cheer into his voice and say, "That's great. I hope I'm invited to the wedding." Though he just might be mysteriously sick that day.

More congrats and thanks went around, and then Cade suggested they go out for a celebratory beer. Clef didn't much feel like celebrating, though; he claimed tired, claimed he had to be up early for work the next day and couldn't afford to miss a day due to a hangover. It was a reasonable excuse and not exactly untrue, so they didn't have any reason to disbelieve him. Yet when he turned to Gaku with an apologetic smile to ask if he could be dropped off at home, he felt like he was being analyzed. He could feel Gaku's hidden eyes searching his face, even if he couldn't see them, and he found himself turning away to escape his friend's scrutiny.

He prayed quietly that Gaku hadn't figured him out. It was embarrassing enough being the fat homo of the group; he didn't need anyone knowing about his hopeless boner for Lan on top of that. And as if hearing his prayer and using it against him like always, life continued its work of making everything difficult for Clef.

"Lan is happy," Gaku said as he piloted the car towards Clef's house.

"Yeah," Clef agreed, mustering up a smile. "It's exciting for him."

"Clef is sad."

The car went silent as Clef felt a tug in his chest. Then finally, he answered, "I'm happy for Lan, but I'm also a bit jealous. It must be nice to have a tight relationship like that, you know?"

"You want a relationship with Lan?"

" _No_ , I- I just meant-" Clef cut himself off then. Lies and denial were useless; he was caught. But, hey, maybe coming clean about it would take a weight off of his heart. So he gave in. "Yeah, kind of. I've been thinking about Lan for... a couple months now. Don't get me wrong, I know he's happy with Lindsay, so I support them, but... Sometimes I wish..." He shrugged, words losing him.

"I understand," Gaku replied, a small smile tugging at his lips. " _Kitto_ , someday you will find someone for you, and have a tight relationship."

Clef turned a creased brow to him in doubt. "Not likely."

"I think so, because you're nice and cool."

Something about that made Clef laugh. Gaku didn't talk much, so it was an honor that he chose to speak now, for Clef's sake. Even if his heart still ached, for a moment, he didn't feel like he was alone. "I am the furthest thing from 'cool'."

"Super cool."

Clef laughed again. "You're a thousand times cooler than I am. You'll find someone long before I ever do."

Gaku shook his head. "I can't find someone. Talking to people... It's too hard."

There was a sadness to the statement. Gaku wasn't anti-social by any means, but he was shy. Clef got the feeling Gaku wanted to go out and meet people, but something was holding him back. "Well... You're talking to me now," Clef said with a smile.

Gaku's lips curved up again. "Un. Talking to you is not so hard."

They left it at that.

The house was dark and desolate when he got home, a shadowy fortress of solitude. No one greeted him when he walked in the door; not even the cat could be bothered to welcome him. As freeing as it was to have the house to himself, it was also a bit lonely, especially on a night like that, with Lan's announcement weighing on his mind and tearing at his heart.

He flicked a few lights on as he went through the house, attempting to make it feel a little more alive. Then he opened the basement door, making sure to close it behind him again before he descended the stairs.

Allegro was there to greet him, hovering in the air just outside Clef's bedroom. His wings fluttered behind him, the delicate appendages nearly a blur in their movement. His small voice came in a simple, "You're back."

"Yeah," Clef replied, and he felt a small smile touch his lips.

Allegro watched him for a moment, and then asked, "What's wrong with you?"

Clef's first instinct was to ask what that meant, to say there was nothing wrong, insist he was tired. Instead, after a quiet moment of regarding each other, Clef stepped towards his room while he answered, "Lan's getting married." He set his guitar case down, but didn't turn back around to face the pixie.

"Married?"

"It's like..." Then he turned, seeing Allegro watching him with a confused crinkle to his brow. "He and his girlfriend will become permanent, exclusive mates. They'll live together and only ever be with each other forever."

"Like lifemates?"

"Sure," Clef replied, assuming that was the pixie version of marriage.

"So you're mad?"

"Not mad, just... hurt, I guess. And I know it's stupid, since it's not like I ever had a chance with him anyway, but..." He dug a hand into his hair, trying to sort his feelings out. "This makes it really, really official, and that kind of hurts."

Allegro blinked slowly, staring. Since Allegro, by his own admission, had never liked anyone, Clef couldn't be sure the pixie understood what he meant, but eventually Allegro nodded. "I see."

"It's not like it changes anything," Clef said, moving on. He headed towards the stairs to scrounge up some dinner for the both of them. "I'll get over it." Hopefully.

He found Tom in his grandmother's room, lounging lazy on her bed. So, instead of kicking the fat beast outside for a few hours, Clef simply shut the room door. The cat was chill enough that he would likely be content there for a while; if he meowed to be let out, Clef would set him free and retreat with Allegro to the basement, but for now everyone seemed to be free of complaints.

There were some frozen hamburger patties in the freezer, so Clef microwaved a couple of them, cutting one in half for Allegro, who would likely only eat half of that. Allegro flitted around the kitchen as he worked, rustling amongst the clutter of stuff on top of the fridge. A short-lived smile touched Clef's lips when he heard the pixie sneeze.

They ate in silence, and Clef almost felt bad about it, but he couldn’t help it. His heart wasn't interested in attempting conversation, too busy wondering if this was it for him. Forever alone, never getting to announce his own intent to marry someone. He would grow old to become "that crazy doll guy."

"Feeling sorry for yourself?" Allegro asked suddenly, his half of the burger barely touched.

Clef snorted, but then answered, "Yes." Then he stood and grabbed his plate, saying, "I'm going to take a shower" as he delivered it to the sink. He could leave Allegro to fend for himself, for once, and he could shower on his own. Allegro could take a bath by himself as well, for once not needing to worry about smuggling the pixie in and out of the bathroom. It was... Well, not exactly 'nice', per se. He had gotten used to their shared bathing time. If anything, it felt lonely – or maybe he was just being overly sensitive that night.

Allegro was no longer in the kitchen when Clef came out of the bathroom, and he assumed the pixie had gone back to his room. The saucer still had most of Allegro's half-burger on it, so Clef picked it up to finish it off, but his stomach dropped at the thought of it. He didn't feel like eating.

The leftover food went into the garbage and Clef went into the living room. The room felt so large and empty – he would definitely want to live in an apartment if he got out on his own, someplace small and cozy. But the gaming system was here, and would provide a nice distraction from his despair. He didn't get to play very often, considering usually either his grandparents were using the TV or the kids were. He wasn't very good at any of the games they had, but perhaps a few rounds of 'Super Larry-O World' would help him relax, sitting comfortably on the floor in front of the couch.

He hadn't gotten far – hadn't saved a single princess – when he saw Allegro slowly fly into the living room. It wasn't until Larry-O fell into a pit of fire, _again_ , that Clef finally looked up to give Allegro his attention, and saw that the pixie was stark naked.

Clef dropped the controller while his cock stirred in his pajama pants.

"D-Do you need help?" Clef stuttered. Maybe Allegro needed help turning the faucet on to take a bath, or couldn't stop the drain.

"No," Allegro answered. "I..." His gray skin flushed pink. "I'll do something for you."

"What do you-"

Clef hadn't even gotten out a full question before Allegro flew at him, landing right in his lap. He pressed his small body into Clef's crotch, his tiny hands feeling out Clef's dick through the cotton of his pants as he looked up. "You did it for me, so I'll repay the favor."

"Yo-You don't have to," Clef said as his erection grew under Allegro's touch.

"I want to," Allegro replied, and then he reached up to tug at the waistband of Clef's pants.

"This is so wrong," Clef said, even as he lifted his hips to yank his pants and trunks down. He would have been lying if he said he didn't want it, though. Whether it was the loneliness threatening to swallow him whole or the curious attraction he had felt towards Allegro since the first time he had gotten the pixie off, he wanted to feel Allegro on him, wanted to feel close to someone.

Allegro was right back at his crotch as soon as Clef's pants were kicked away, and he looked at the dick that was near the same size as him as if lost for a moment, unsure of what to do. For a brief moment, Clef thought this wouldn't work, their bodies too incompatible, but Allegro only frowned in determination, then wrapped his arms around Clef's erection. Clef's whole body tingled at the touch, catching a breath of anticipation, and he leaned back against the couch to watch the erotic scene before him.

It started with licks, Allegro's small tongue coming out to lap at the head of Clef's erection. The area covered was miniscule, but the very sight had Clef's cock lengthening further, growing harder, and Allegro began to lick him faster, as if encouraged. When a bead of precum leaked from Clef's tip, Allegro put his mouth over it to drink it down, smearing some on his face. Clef moaned at how hard that made his dick throb.

Holding tight to Clef's erection, Allegro began to slide up and down the engorged flesh, using his whole body to pump it, jerking Clef off as best he could. It was hot, and Clef gasped softly when a shiver of pleasure rolled through him. When Allegro stuck his tongue out again to slide it along Clef's dick as he frotted against it, Clef hissed a whispered, " _Fuck_."

Allegro's face was red, and a sheen of sweat covered him. He moaned as he continued to rub up and down, fingers clutching tight, pulling at the skin of Clef's dick. His hips pressed against the erection as if his own need were taking over, desperately seeking stimulation for himself while still working to get Clef off. He panted in want and exertion, and _fuck_ , Clef was sure he had never been so hard before in his life.

"Don't stop," Clef groaned. "Fuck, it feels so good."

Allegro's arms tightened around Clef's dick, moving his body faster. It drove Clef insane, and he moaned as his balls tightened, the wave of orgasm rushing up on him, but never reaching shore. He danced at the peak, but couldn't quite get there, going mad with the need to come. And without thinking, Clef suddenly sat up, getting his knees under him and knocking Allegro to the floor.

Flushed and panting, Allegro looked up at Clef with eyes begging for release, his tongue hanging out of his mouth as he fought for breath, Clef's precum smeared across his face. His tiny dick was hard and leaking, straining against his stomach. It sent Clef half out of his mind with lust, and he lowered his hips, dropping his dick onto Allegro's prone body.

Then he began to thrust, grinding down onto Allegro like a dog in heat with his favorite stuffed toy. Allegro's arms and legs wrapped around Clef's cock, creating a tunnel for Clef to slide into, holding on tight while Clef fucked him. And no matter how hard or how fast Clef thrust into the space he had created, Allegro didn't let go, only panted and moaned, small hips pressing up when Clef's dick slid against him.

And then Allegro's hold tightened, his whole body going stiff as he cried out. His beautiful face twisted into a lovely shade of tortured as he came, driving Clef's hips to thrust harder.

Clef came hard, clenching his teeth and refusing to take his eyes off the gorgeous pixie beneath him as he groaned out his release. His cum shot onto the carpet, onto Allegro's face and chin, coated Allegro's body. Allegro's arms and legs fell away as he went limp, exhausted, and Clef rubbed his dick over the pixie's form a few more strokes, drawing out the last few spurts of cum and smearing the stuff over Allegro's chest, stomach, and groin, making a complete mess of the pixie that almost had him wanting more already.

He was tired, though, and he eventually stopped moving entirely, save for the soft panting breaths he let out as he simply gazed down at Allegro, whose half-lidded eyes gazed back up at him. Then Clef moved a hand to caress a finger along Allegro's cheek, and he smiled when the pixie leaned into the touch.

But then Allegro pulled away and sat up. His wings unfolded from where they had been tucked protectively against his back, fluttering as if to shake out any stiffness as he asked, "Feel better?"

"Yeah," Clef answered. For a while, he had been able to forget about Lan. "Thanks."

Allegro took to the air, looking like he wanted to say something. Clef felt like he wanted to say something too, but he didn't know what. Eventually, though, Allegro just said, "Good," and then floated away. A moment later, Clef heard the bathroom sink's faucet turn on.

Clef sighed, then reached for his pants.

They didn't talk about it, though Clef thought they probably should have. He didn't get much sleep that night, too tormented over what Allegro's intentions were. It wasn't until he convinced himself that it was simply as Allegro had said – repaying a favor – that he was able to fall into a troubled slumber.

A full work shift on five hours of sleep wasn't a bag of fun, but with a truck-ton of coffee and chocolate, Clef was able to get through it unscathed. The bike ride home went slow, though, too tired to pedal at more than a crawling pace, and it left him with little time to take care of things at home before Gaku would arrive to take him to practice. He didn't even bother changing his clothes – the guys were used to seeing him in red and khaki anyways – and he had just barely finished cleaning out Allegro's toilet and gathering some food for the pixie when the expected knock came to the front door.

"Hey," Clef said in greeting as he opened the door and stepped back. "Come on in. I just need to go grab my stuff. I'll be right back."

Gaku just smiled and looked towards the plate of food in Clef's hand. Clef didn't address it, too tired to come up with some bullshit excuse for it. Instead, he just headed off to the basement, hoping Gaku assumed something normal, like that Clef was going to shove it all in his mouth as he was getting ready to go.

Allegro was waiting when Clef got to the room, arms crossed and scowl in place. "Going with that guy again?"

"Just like every other night," Clef replied as he set the plate on his desk. "Are you still jealous?"

"I'm not jealous!" Allegro snapped.

"Sure thing, little fairy."

Allegro glared, then shot forward, slamming himself against Clef's shoulder in annoyance, a body-check as effective as a butterfly's attack. Clef almost laughed, except that Allegro's next move was to drop down to Clef's waist and burrow his way under Clef's belt, into the khaki pants.

"What are you doing!?" Clef yelped as his hand instinctively moved to bat at the roaming lump in his pants. He wasn't fast enough, though – Allegro had already found the fly of his trunks and began to stroke Clef's dick through it.

"No! _No_!" Clef berated as his fingers flew to his belt, tearing his pants open as fast as he could, as if it weren't already too late. Allegro had already begun grinding himself against Clef's cock, already had the heavy member engorged and wanting more. The sight of Allegro cuddling up to his dick and then looking up at him with defiant eyes didn't help at all. "Get out of there." There was hardly any force behind the order.

"I want it again," Allegro said plainly, rocking his hips against Clef's erection.

" _Now_? I'm about to leave."

Allegro nodded, thrust his hips again, and _moaned_ , and Clef was gone.

"Fuck," Clef muttered as he put a hand over his crotch, holding Allegro tightly to him while he stepped to the door and pulled it shut. "Fine, but we have to be _really_ quick. I have to go."

He sat on the bed, wiggling a bit to tug his pants and underwear past his hips while Allegro pushed away for a moment to remove the doll pants he wore. Then they were back together, with Clef leaning back to watch as Allegro humped his small groin against Clef's dick, trying desperately to stimulate himself while jerking Clef off at the same time. It was both hot and oddly cute; he wished he could sit and watch the erotic scene all night, feel the tugging at his cock and let it massage a leisurely orgasm out of him.

There wasn't time, though. When he remembered that Gaku was upstairs waiting for him, Clef sat up. He would need to take a more active role if this were going to be quick. So he wrapped a hand around his dick and Allegro's body both, instructing "Hold on tight." Once Allegro had again wrapped his arms and legs around Clef's erection, Clef began to pump himself, with Allegro acting something like a cock sleeve, and _fuck_ , it felt good.

He went slow at first, wanting to make sure it felt good for Allegro too. As if the panting and moans weren't enough of an indication, Clef softly asked, "How is it? Is it good?"

Allegro nodded frantically as if unable to speak, as if the only sounds his mouth could produce anymore were lewd gasps and mewls. His hips bucked against Clef's cock, and he moaned loud when Clef slid him up and down it again.

Clef smiled at the adorable and sexy little pixie even as his breath hitched and pleasure shot through him. He sped up the strokes, watching as Allegro's eyes clenched shut and his head was thrown back. Allegro's small voice calling out his pleasure with every pump of Clef's hand seemed to reverberate through Clef's dick, down to his very soul. Clef stroked as fast as he dared, not wanting to hurt the tiny body beneath his hand, though he knew how resilient Allegro was.

Allegro's voice came louder, louder still, though it didn't carry very far, and an immense satisfaction and lust tore through Clef when the pixie's whole body tightened, and he moaned loud. And even after Allegro's orgasm faded into panting whimpers, Clef still didn't slow his hand, driven by his need. Allegro's overstimulated cries and gasps only turned him on further, making Clef's pursuit of release more frantic. When the tide of orgasm rushed up on him, Clef stopped his strokes, hand going still, holding Allegro tightly as he thrust against the small body. He came in thick ropes, all over Allegro, over his hand, dripping to the carpet below them.

"Fuck," Clef whispered, mind blown, chest hurting with a sudden rush of feelings he didn't understand. He knew he had to go, had to get moving, get cleaned up before Gaku came down wondering what was taking so long, but for a moment he was stuck. He was stuck on Allegro's face, on Allegro's voice, carried softly on his panting breaths.

It wasn't until he heard a soft, thudding footstep from above that Clef finally snapped out of it, quickly pulling his hand back to set Allegro free. "I'm sorry," he said, as if it were his fault that Allegro had gone diving into his pants. "I have to go. Could you use the sink in the laundry room to clean up?" He scuttled over to the desk to get some tissues, holding his low-slung pants up with a hand as he went. He wiped himself up, tucked himself away, and hurriedly moved to scrub cum up off the carpet, all while Allegro hung in the air, watching him with a creased brow and guarded eyes.

"I have to go," Clef repeated. He felt like he was running away. He tossed the wad of tissues into the garbage and grabbed his guitar, then paused and took a breath. Then, finally, he looked at Allegro directly. "I'll be home soon. Wait for me."

Allegro remained still, aside from the fluttering of his wings, and all Clef could do was duck his head and hurry out the door.

He closed the basement door softly behind him when he reached the top of the stairs, then tried to be as casual as possible as he flipped off the kitchen lights and moved on to the living room. He found Gaku sitting on a couch, holding Tom in his lap and scratching under the cat's chin. Clef gave an apologetic smile, saying "Sorry about that; I couldn't find my keys." He paused for a second, then held his set of house keys up and added, "I found them."

Practice was normal, for the most part. The songs were, anyway, but when Cade got to asking Lan about how he was going to propose and how his house, his life, and their practices might change once he was married, the music got derailed and half the night was spent chatting.

On one hand, Clef was annoyed; on the other, he recognized that annoyance was mostly heartbreak and jealousy. Lan was excited about this next step in his life, and Clef didn't want to shit on it, even if his chest ached every time Lan said "after the wedding." So he kept silent, lightly fingering the heavy strings of his bass until the 'practice' was called to a close.

"Well, that was less than productive," Clef grumped once they were back in Gaku's car. When Gaku only smiled, though, Clef's annoyance broke. The hurt came through, and he softly said, "It must be nice." Though he didn't specify what – planning a proposal, getting to marry Lan, being loved – he got the impression Gaku understood. It was all of those things and more.

Several traffic lights passed in silence, and then Gaku asked, "You're busy tomorrow?"

"No," Clef answered, curious. "Since we don't have practice and I never have any other plans. Why?"

A smile touched Gaku's lips. "We should go out."

It had been a while since Clef had gone out anywhere – since Allegro came to stay with him. A bite of guilt nipped at him, thinking about leaving Allegro alone even more while he partied. But the guilt of turning Gaku down was there too. Gaku was making an effort to cheer him up, putting himself out there for Clef's sake. He didn't want to slap away the hand Gaku had extended to him, so he tentatively asked, "Where?"

"Pink Plum," Gaku answered simply.

"The gay bar?" Clef questioned skeptically, and when Gaku nodded, he added, "You're not gay."

"Maybe you will meet someone."

"I don't know, man," Clef replied. "Seems like it would be really uncomfortable."

"Not for me."

Clef snorted, but admittedly, it meant a lot to him that Gaku was willing to go that far for his sake. And maybe trying to meet someone wasn't a bad idea – it would help him get over Lan, and-

Well, actually, his sex life hadn't been completely lacking lately. As odd as whatever was going on between him and Allegro was, at least he was kind of getting laid.

If only Allegro were human.

"All right," Clef answered eventually. Then he smiled. "Let's go."

He was almost scared to tell Allegro that he would be going out, afraid of what the volatile little pixie would say. All Allegro ended up saying, though, was, "No."

"What do you mean, 'no'?"

"I mean _no_. You can't go. I'm bored sitting around here alone all the time, and you have to do something about it."

"You _chose_ to stay here, knowing you would be stuck here alone from the beginning," Clef said. "You _demanded_ it! If you're bored, it's your own fault."

Allegro glared hot, then darted into his room, emerging a half-second later holding his violin. He raised the bow, bringing it to the strings, and near growled, "You will stay here and spend time with _me_ , or I'll destroy your brain from the inside."

"No, you won't."

"I will!"

Clef just stared. He didn't believe for a second that Allegro would kill him, though he couldn't say why. He trusted Allegro, so he dared call the pixie's bluff, saying an even, "Fine, do it."

Allegro's teeth clenched and his hands shook, but the bow didn't move. They stood silently, facing off, Allegro more than capable of dropping Clef to his knees, though he remained still. Clef wondered what it would take to make him do it. What would drive Allegro to pull the trigger, play the song that could tear Clef's mind apart and leave an him an empty husk, as he had done to Brittany.

He didn't, though. Instead, Allegro lowered the violin, snapped, "Do whatever you want!" then flew off into his room.

Clef thought about canceling. For a brief moment, he thought about texting Gaku and backing out, giving in to Allegro and spending the free time with him. Clef already had an established storyline – it would be easy to once again claim his "friend" was having problems and Clef needed to be there for him. Gaku wouldn't question it or be upset. Then maybe he and Allegro could talk about what was going on between them.

Perhaps it was pride or whatever, but remembering his own words – his own argument – made him all the more set to actually go. Allegro had had multiple chances to leave – spring had come long ago, summer on the horizon, so he couldn't even claim escape from the weather anymore – and yet he continued to stay. He chose to be here, so why should Clef have to continue living like a hostage? Honestly, he was tired of it.

So after he had parked his bike in the garage after work, Clef began to clean himself up as nicely as possible. Showered and shaved, feeling fresh and clean, he made sure his hair was perfectly tousled before staring into his closet for an appropriate outfit. He had never been to a bar like Pink Plum before, so wasn't totally sure what normal wear was, but he ultimately decided on a nicer version of his usual self. Less Hard Gay and more light goth, he went with a pair of black jeans, a black button-up, and a black suit jacket he had stuffed in the back of his closet, plus his usual choker and bracelets.

Allegro didn't speak to him at all, and Clef returned the gesture, miffed in his own right. If the pixie wanted to be a brat, then fine.

At least, that was what Clef repeated to himself over and over as he answered Gaku's knock at the door. He was already well aware, though, that he wouldn't be fine if Allegro gave him the silent treatment long-term. They needed to talk, preferably without screaming at each other.

Gaku looked nice as well, in a long, white cardigan over a black t-shirt and slacks. His hair was in his face, as usual, and Clef greeted with a comment that if his grandmother were home, she would have a fit, and then they were off.

Pink Plum was the only gay bar in town, but it wasn't crowded by a long shot. Maybe there were a lack of gays in the city, or maybe because it was Sunday and the more responsible people were in bed already, resting up to be ready to go on Monday morning. But then, the place wasn't exactly dead, either. It was comfortable for Clef's first foray into this world.

They went to the bar and sat, ordered drinks, observed their surroundings. There was a small dance floor where music played and a few people danced, a couple pool tables stood off to one side, and the rest of the place held tables for patrons to sit at. Pretty standard bar fare, which almost surprised Clef, though he hadn't really expected anything in particular.

"See anyone you want to talk to?" Gaku asked. If he were looking around the bar, Clef couldn't tell.

It was almost strange to assess the other men in the place as potential partners. Clef really hadn't been out that long, even to himself. He was still so used to smacking his wandering eyes into the direction of girls, forcing himself to appreciate them despite the absence of any fluttering in his stomach.

If New Year's had never happened – if he had never fled his family and gone to Lan's house, never wrestled around with an attractive guy whom he was comfortable with, never been given something for his body and heart to finally respond to – he likely wouldn't be here right now.

He wouldn't have met Allegro either.

Not that he was going to thank his family for it. Being the bitter asshole that he was, thinking about it just made him want to swear in front of the kids more. And he was likely to have come out to himself eventually, anyway, just perhaps much later.

"There are a couple guys I might want to get to know better." Actually, everyone there seemed pretty plain, compared with who he was used to looking at. "But first I'll need a lot more booze in me." He cocked a grin and picked up his beer glass.

He hadn't yet approached anyone, though, before someone approached him. Clef was honestly shocked when a guy who looked roughly his own age, dressed in ripped jeans and a t-shirt, with rows of piercings lining his ears, came up and sat on the stool next to him. "Hey," he said, giving Clef a smile.

"Hey," Clef replied, smiling back. The guy was pretty cute, with close-cropped, light brown hair and nice, straight teeth.

Gaku, on the other hand, stood and pointed to the bathroom. The pull at his lip as he walked away was clear, though – he was leaving them alone.

"Sorry if I'm mistaken," the guy started. "But you're not from Curse of ROM, are you?"

That was the biggest shock yet. Someone actually knew of their little band, and even moreover, had recognized _him_. He glanced around for a split second, looking for hidden cameras, before answering, "Yeah, I am."

"I saw you guys at Virgin Cherry's rock fest. You were awesome!"

"Thanks," Clef replied, breaking into a smile again. This guy was for real; he really remembered them. "That means a lot."

"I'm actually surprised to see two of you here. Are you guys...?"

"Oh, no," Clef said quickly, eyes glancing towards where Gaku had disappeared to. "He's straight, actually. He's just here for moral support since this is my first time at a place... like this." His smile wavered.

"I got ya," the man replied. "Well, if you need anything, just let me know. I'm an old pro at places like this." His eyes twinkled as he smiled, and he stuck his hand out to shake. "I'm Bastian. Nice to meet you."

"Clef." He took the offered hand, shaking it.

Bastian was nice. They talked over drinks, tried a few shots, got to know a surface level of each other. Clef explained how he had only just come out to himself, and only his bandmates knew. Bastian said how great it was that the others supported him, and described his own coming out experience, how his friends at that time had _not_ supported him, but that he was happy to have new friends now. As they chatted, Clef spotted Gaku over by a pool table, shooting at random by himself, giving Clef and his new friend privacy while still staying nearby, and Clef smiled. It was good to have supportive friends.

Several drinks later and Bastian seemed to grow the courage to ask, "So if you just admitted you're gay to yourself, does that mean you're a-" He gave air quotes. "Virgin?"

Clef laughed into his glass, the alcohol in him finding the question funny instead of invasive. At the same time, however, he had no idea how to answer. He couldn't exactly say he had never been with a guy before, now could he? Allegro may not have been human, but he was still a man. Then again, they hadn't – _couldn't_ – gone "all the way," so to speak.

Eventually, he put it as, "I've... fooled around some, but that's it."

Bastian smiled, seeming to like the answer. "Would you be interested in fooling around tonight?" He raised his brows suggestively. "Maybe more?"

This was what he came for. The whole point of him being here was to meet someone, drown himself and his mind in a person other than Lan, make a connection with someone who was actually interested in him. Because, unlike Lan, Clef didn't have someone like that in his life.

Did he?

Clef held his drink to his mouth again, taking a long gulp, searching for an answer at the bottom of the glass.

"I think I'm going to puke again."

A sound like a smile came from Gaku, but Clef couldn't lift his head up to look. It took too much out of him just trying to plod one foot in front of the other, head spinning and stomach churning. He had definitely gone overboard with the alcohol, desperately trying to drown out his own stupidity and guilt. Bastian had said it was all right, he understood, it was too soon for Clef and, yeah, they had only just met. He had given Clef his number and said he should call sometime so they could hang out and get to know each other better, but he hadn't stuck around for long after that.

He got to his room eventually, leaning heavily on Gaku most of the way. His bed looked like heaven, and his body, at least, found comfort in the pillow that his head landed on.

"I'm an idiot," Clef muttered, closing his eyes. He felt a tug at his foot, Gaku untying the laces of his boots and beginning to pull them off. He wanted to say that he didn't have to go that far – had done more than enough for him lately – but the words didn't come out. For tonight, he would simply be thankful for the friendly pampering.

"Not an idiot," Gaku said with cheer in his voice. "Time at a time."

Clef smiled despite the heaviness in his heart. "A little bit at a time," he corrected, though Gaku's meaning was clear. It was Clef's first time _out_ ; he didn't need to jump in the sack with someone right away. And he had even gotten a phone number. Not bad, technically, but he didn't think he would be going out again anytime soon.

He had lied when he said he just wasn't ready to sleep with a guy yet, and it wasn't Bastian he was feeling guilty over. Nor was it Lan.

"Next is your turn," Clef said, opening his eyes to look at Gaku and distract himself. He had too many things to figure out before he tried Pink Plum again, but that didn't mean he couldn't return Gaku's efforts. "We'll go to a regular bar and try to find a cute girl for you."

Gaku shook his head. "No. Even if I like someone, I can't talk to her."

"I'll help you."

More head-shaking, insistent this time.

"All right," Clef replied as his eyes fell closed again. Gaku was shy – Clef wouldn't push him into something that made him uncomfortable.

Silence ticked by for a moment, and then Gaku quietly said, "My English isn't good."

"Eh...?" That was a new one. "Your English is fine."

It fell quiet again, and Clef cracked an eye to see Gaku's head tilted down, gaze lost somewhere behind his streaked black hair. Before Clef could say anything, though, Gaku said, "I was teased often when I was a kid, since my English wasn't good. If I made a mistake, everyone laughed at me."

"Is that why you don't talk much now?"

Gaku nodded once, and then his head turned Clef's way as a pained smile crossed his face. "My Japanese isn't good either."

How isolating. "Well, for what it's worth, I can understand you fine, and I'm sure a lot of cute girls would love to get to know you with or without words."

Smile widening, Gaku shook his head again, but then he continued with, "In high school, Lan was the one to try and get to know me. He didn't tease me."

Clef's heart warmed. That sounded like Lan, for sure. "He's a great guy." It came out softer than he had meant it to.

"He's my hero." They both laughed, and then Gaku moved towards the door to leave, stopping to add, "Don't tell him I said that."

"I won't," Clef replied with a snort.

"Good!" Gaku's smile shifted to a grin as he pointed toward the top shelf of Clef's bookcase. "Then, I won't tell anyone about your 'friend'." Then he gave a chuckle and disappeared through the door, footsteps fading as he ascended the stairs to let himself out.

A beat passed, and then another. Silence.

Then Clef leapt out of bed, just in time – just fast enough – to catch Allegro's legs as the pixie shot out of his room, violin in hand. "Allegro, don't!"

"Let me go, shithead."

"Don't hurt him!"

"I told you if anyone found out about me, I would kill them."

"He's not going to tell anyone!"

Allegro pounded his tiny fist against Clef's hand, though it wasn't like he could really do any harm. "I'm not taking any chances!" He yelled as he continued the blows. "And you're next! Now let me go!"

"It's your own fault he found out!"

The hits stopped, though the glare Allegro threw may have been worse. "What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"You kept hanging out instead of hiding when you knew he was coming," Clef said, trying to reason with an unreasonable pixie. "You were so concerned about him being _pretty_ that you left yourself open to being seen. You have no one to blame but yourself."

Allegro's struggles resumed, this time trying to yank his legs free from the grasp Clef had on him, all the while yelling, "I wasn't concerned! He's not even that pretty! Now let me go so I can kill him!"

"Allegro!" Clef called, trying to get the pixie to calm down. "I need him for my band! You know how important my band is to me!" And when Allegro's struggles quieted, Clef quickly added, "Even if he weren't a member of my band, he's my friend. My friends are important to me."

Eyes fixed to the side in a glare, Allegro remained silent, fuming. So Clef brought him nearer, bringing their faces close, prompting Allegro to look at him.

"Allegro... You're important to me, too."

Allegro's eyes shot open wide, jaw dropping in a look of utter surprise. He seemed speechless, mouth moving slightly but no sound coming out. Then he suddenly pulled out of Clef's loosened grip, drifting backwards several paces. "You're lying," he said at last, though shock continued to color his expression. "I've never been important to anyone."

"I'm not lying," Clef replied. Then, for reasons unknown – maybe the alcohol in his system, maybe the sudden quiet that blanketed the room – Clef reached up and took hold of Allegro's miniscule hands and pulled the pixie closer to him again. "You are important to me. I told you, you're my friend."

Softly, gently, Allegro pulled his hands away, backing up again. A small fist pressed to his groin as he near whispered, "Don't... touch me..."

Clef couldn't help a smile at the adorable pixie's expense. "Sorry."

He supposed it would have been too much to ask for to hear Allegro say Clef was important to him in return. It didn't really matter, either; Clef had meant what he said, and he wouldn't take it back. No matter the circumstances between them and no matter what he was to Allegro, Allegro was important to Clef. And it had taken a weight off his shoulders to admit it, even if he never heard the same back.

Besides, it said plenty when he woke up the following morning with Allegro curled up on his pillow.


	15. Chapter 15

It was the last day they would have the house to themselves – Grandma had even called to check up on him and confirm they would be home sometime tomorrow – and, incidentally, a day off of work for Clef. So he decided to use the opportunity to spend the day with Allegro. Aside from the couple hours of band practice, they could spend time together, making up for Allegro being left alone, doing whatever the pixie wanted. So, after Tom was fed, doted on, then put outside, Clef began making a French toast breakfast that would blow Allegro's mind, brewing a full pot of coffee in the meantime.

Allegro floated into the kitchen with a yawn, his long hair a tangled mess. Maybe he would let Clef brush it out later, but for now he just pushed it out of his face, looking around bleary until he spotted the little mug of coffee waiting for him.

"I don't have to work today," Clef said as Allegro threw back the contents of the mug. "I'll have practice later, but until then, we can spend the day together, if you want."

Allegro's eyes darted to the side as he held the empty mug out for seconds. "I guess," was his only answer, because of course the prideful little pixie wouldn't admit to wanting that even though he had _literally_ demanded it just days before.

Clef maintained a smile as he filled Allegro's mug. "Then, we can do whatever you want today."

It took a moment for Allegro to answer this time, seeming to mull things over in his head. He went easier on the coffee, but still had the second mug finished before replying, "I want to go out with you."

For a second, Clef's heart skipped a beat. "Ah, you mean, like, go out to the woods or a park? Yeah, we can do that."

Allegro shook his head. "I mean like how you went out with your friend."

"I can't exactly take you to a bar."

"You said whatever I want," Allegro said, face falling to a frown.

"Oh, okay, we'll go," Clef replied, more mocking than he had really intended. "Shall I announce you to all the people there, or let them find out about you on their own?"

A pause, and then Allegro set his mug down _hard_ and turned away. "Never mind."

So much for a pleasant day together. Clef understood what Allegro was getting at – what he wanted – but it wasn't that easy. He couldn't treat Allegro the same as everyone else, because Allegro _wasn't_ the same. "No, look, I'm sorry," he placated. "It's just that bars are really crowded and busy places. There's no way you can go there without being seen." He had another idea, though, something slightly more feasible. "We can't go out to a bar, but maybe a restaurant would be okay."

"A restaurant?" Allegro questioned, looking over his shoulder with a raised brow.

"It's a place where people gather and hang out and eat together. The booths are a little bit private, so if we're careful, you won't be seen." His smile picked up. "It could be fun." And completely nerve-wracking.

Slowly, Allegro nodded. "I want to see."

They decided to go for a late lunch, leaving when Clef guessed they would miss the lunch rush. Allegro clung to the collar of Clef's shirt as they rode to Granny Smith's, laying over Clef's shoulder, half hidden by Clef's jacket but with his face peeking out so that he could watch the human world go by. Clef couldn't see Allegro, but it was a comfort feeling his miniscule weight pressing close.

The hostess at the restaurant tried to sit Clef at a small table meant for one or two people along the back wall of the place. Though he felt slightly rude at taking up more space than he technically needed, the tables didn't have partitions like the booths did, so Clef gestured towards a booth in a corner and asked "Is there okay? I have some work to do, so need a little room to spread out and privacy." He hoped he actually had something in his bag that would pass as 'work'.

When he was sat and his order taken, a drink delivered to him, Clef finally slipped his jacket off, setting Allegro free. The pixie immediately zipped to the edge of the booth's partition, peering over top to look around at the whole restaurant. He was a curious little thing, and Clef could sense how much he wanted to explore and get into things from the way his tiny fingers flexed against the wooden partition. Hopefully he would be content with just looking – even if he crawled around stealthy as could be, it would be easy for someone to mistake him for a bug or a rat and stomp on him if they spotted him.

"Be careful," Clef warned. And when Allegro turned to stare at him as if he had just insulted the pixie's mother, Clef braced himself for a lecture. Instead, however, Allegro just dropped down and sat on the table, and Clef realized that Allegro _couldn't_ lecture him. He had no right to. He _hadn't_ been careful enough lately, complacent, and had gotten caught because of it. And though Clef held to what he had said, that it was Allegro's own fault Gaku had found out about him, he still suddenly felt the need to say, "I'm sorry if I was a bit too harsh last night."

Allegro shrugged and looked away. "You... weren't wrong."

Clef wasn't going to argue with that. "Well, if you want me to talk to Gaku and let him know your situation, I will. But honestly, he doesn't talk much anyway, so I can promise you he won't tell anyone."

Allegro shrugged again, though it was slower. "Do what you want."

With a hint of a smile pulling at Clef's lip, he lifted his hand to run a finger along Allegro's cheek, unable to resist petting the moody pixie.

"What are you doing?" Allegro asked flatly, leaning away from the touch.

"You said I can do what I want."

"Don't touch me."

Clef puffed a laugh, happy they were talking at least a little like normal. Then he opened his bag, looking for something that might pass as work as he asked, "So, what do you think?" He found a folder of sheet music for a song he had been working on and pulled it out, laying it across the table as some kind of justification for having a whole booth to himself.

"Humans work making other people food, so that they can have money to pay other people to make them food."

"Basically," Clef replied with a half-smile.

"How stupid."

"Basically," Clef repeated, laughing this time.

Then Allegro stood, walking over the sheet music Clef had lain out. "So, what's all this?"

"It's the music for a song I've been trying to write." His eyes averted as a little 'heh' escaped him. "It's... not going so well."

"Hmm~" Allegro looked thoughtful as he regarded the written notes beneath his curled feet. "How does it go?"

Since Allegro couldn't read music, the scribbles on the notation paper would make zero sense to him, so Clef put a finger on the first note, humming as he traced along what he had so far. It wasn't much, and when he got to the end he let his voice trail off, reminded of how he had no idea where to go with it from there.

Allegro was silent a moment, then said, "It's fairly typical."

Clef hung his head. He had known that, didn't especially need it pointed out to him. "I know."

"You should add a violin."

Clef snorted. "We don't have a violinist in our band."

"You should-"

At the waitress's footsteps, Clef grabbed Allegro and quickly dragged him under the table. He looked up and smiled then, when the waitress announced, "All right, here's one cheese-bread ratatouille chicken sandwich and fries" in a pleasant voice.

"Thanks," Clef replied as he cleared a spot for her to set the plate down. He declined her inquiry for anything else, and when he was alone again, he lifted his hand to let Allegro free.

"Warn me next time!" Allegro hissed, flying into Clef's face.

"The waitress was coming," Clef answered, waving the pixie away. "I didn't want her to see you." Then he smiled, charmed by Allegro's grumpy, little face. "Want to eat?"

Allegro frowned, and then nodded. They shared the food and talked softly, and for a while, things were how they had been. They spoke like friends, and though Allegro had to go still to remain unnoticed whenever someone walked by, it really didn't feel all that different than any other time Clef hung out with friends. The change of environment had done a lot for Allegro's mood, and Clef was beyond glad for it.

He let Allegro pick out a dessert, the pixie's brows crinkling in disbelief when he saw all the choices, and they must have sat there for over two hours, just chatting away. They really only left because Clef had to start getting ready for practice, and by the time Clef was seated on his bike, his heart felt lighter than it had in a long time.

"Teach me how to read music," Allegro requested once they were back home.

Clef glanced at his watch. There was still a little time before Gaku would arrive to take him to practice, so he did as asked. From one of the piles around his bedroom, Clef pulled out some old, old sheet music from when he was still learning, with the names of the notes printed on the paper, each aligned in a neat scale. Clef hummed each note so Allegro could match it with its sound, and Allegro seemed to pick it up right away, as expected.

When the doorbell rang, Clef said, "I'll leave my phone with you. You can look up videos on YuuTube about it while I'm at practice."

Allegro stared at the black device as Clef set the phone next to him on the bed, and then softly, almost inaudibly, said, "Thank you."

Clef blinked several times before asking, "What?"

" _Nothing_ ," Allegro replied.

It was too late; Clef's heart had already gone warm. "You're welcome." He smiled bright.

Allegro's skin went pink, but he didn't respond, only turning away.

With his bass in hand, Clef greeted Gaku and locked up the house to go, making sure Tom was safely lounging around inside before he shut the door firmly. Once he was seated in Gaku's car and they were on their way, Clef finally spoke up, saying, "About... my friend..."

Gaku just smiled and nodded.

"I know you probably get it, but he wanted me to make sure you understand how important it is that you don't tell _anybody_ about him. We don't want him to become a science experiment. If he were taken from me... I would be devastated."

Gaku's smile fell into open-mouthed surprise, and Clef felt his face go warm. Perhaps he had said too much. Before he could begin to backpedal, though – take it back and claim he didn't mean it like _that_ – Gaku replied, "No worry! I won't tell."

"Thanks." Clef sighed, relieved, though he hadn't been that concerned. Gaku was good at reading the atmosphere, likely wouldn't have said anything anyway. At least now Clef could report back to Allegro that Gaku absolutely understood the delicacy of the situation. Hopefully it would ease his little, pixie heart some.

Clef braced himself when they got to Lan's house, expecting to be faced with a smiling and newly-engaged blond. Instead, they got a subdued and quiet version who kept to himself aside from the friendly greetings. While Clef and Gaku shared a glance, neither of them said anything. They minded their own business, checking the tuning on their instruments, until Cade showed up, throwing a wide, knowing grin as he nudged Lan with an elbow, saying, "Well, how did it go? Give us the details, bro."

"Oh, ah... She said no," Lan replied, then flipped his guitar strap over his head with a forced casualness.

Surprise seemed to take over all of their features, the raising of Cade's eyebrows matching Clef's own. Though his heart began to beat heavy, Clef's voice stuck in his throat, unable to offer any words of comfort or support. He wondered if it had anything to do with Lindsay's prior issues with Lan not being as rich or famous as she "just knew" he could be. Honestly, he would be mad if that were the reason, even if – to be fair – it would be advantageous to Clef himself. But he would rather Lan be happy than for the pair to split.

Cade seemed to be the only one able to speak, not having the presence to think maybe Lan didn't want to talk about it. "Why?"

"She said... she just wasn't where she wanted to be yet. She's still got a few years before she completes her Master's, and doesn't want to be a burden on me in the meantime." He fingered his guitar mindlessly for a moment before going still.

"Yeah, but... It's not like you can't afford to take care of her," Cade said with a skeptical crease to his brow.

Lan's voice went quiet as he replied, "She doesn't want that."

Clef's heart ached at the timbre of Lan's voice. It would figure Miss Perfect Lindsay would only turn Lan down so that she can become perfect _plus alpha_. Really... Lan deserved someone with real aspirations, like Lindsay. Someone with a loftier future than a Bullseye Mart cashier.

Then Lan smiled. "I mean, it's not like we broke up. I just need to wait a little longer. And it's a good thing. We need to focus on the contest right now."

The room was still for a moment, and then Cade clapped Lan on the shoulder, returning the smile. "That's right," he said. "We have to show the nation what we've got."

They all shared a nod, then threw themselves into practice.

A sadness lingered over Clef, though, even after he got home. He felt bad for Lan. He could too-perfectly picture his friend waiting for the perfect moment, then, in front of a restaurant full of people, getting down on one knee and proposing, velvet box raised and hope in his deep, blue eyes, only to be turned down. How hurt and embarrassed he must have been.

"What's wrong with you now?" Allegro asked in his ear, causing Clef to jump.

The water in the kitchen sink was running; he must have spaced out while washing their dinner dishes. "Nothing," Clef answered, rinsing out the sponge in his hands and turning off the water. "I'm going to wash up." Then he moved to set the sponge in its little tray, and an idea struck him. This was supposed to be his day with Allegro; no moping over Lan.

He turned and looked at the pixie beside him. His face warmed as he remembered what he had told Gaku in the car, but he asked, "Want to join me?"

Allegro just cocked his head, looking confused.

He couldn't place why it seemed like such a fun idea. He hadn't taken a bath in ages, wasn't even sure he would fit in the tub at first, until he reminded himself that he wasn't _that_ big. Perhaps it would be relaxing, a chance to talk while surrounded by warmth and steam. It would be their last chance to do it without worrying about Clef's family banging on the door, shouting at him to hurry up and get out of the bathroom.

So, as the water poured into the stopped-up tub, Clef went to the kitchen and dug out a new, clean sponge from under the sink. As he began to cut it into a ring shape, Allegro hovered around him, asking, "What's that for?"

"For you," Clef answered simply.

"For me? What am I supposed to do with it?" He eyed the sponge suspiciously. "Do I eat it?"

Clef gave a light laugh. "You'll see."

Allegro frowned, clearly not pleased with the lack of an answer, but Clef just smiled and returned to the bathroom.

He hesitated a moment before starting to undress. After all they had done and been though, it was silly to still be embarrassed about being naked in front of Allegro, but it was so ingrained in him, as a human, to be uncomfortable nude around others. He felt vulnerable, but maybe that wasn't such a bad thing.

When he sank into the tub, the warm water seemed to envelop him, drawing out the tension in his muscles, causing him to melt as he laid back against the wall of the tub. Then he released the sponge-ring, watching it float swiftly to the top of the water, just as planned. Then, after pushing the gushing faucet off with his foot, Clef smiled up at the hovering Allegro and pointed at the floating sponge. "Lay on that."

"Why?"

"So you can relax in the water with me without drowning."

"Why?"

Clef felt his smile dip, but he pushed it back up. "I mean... You don't have to if you don't want to. I just thought it would be fun."

Allegro flew back a pace, then paused before landing on the edge of the bathtub. His hands moved to pull his shirt over his head, his wings pulling through the cut-in slits as he did so, revealing the tiny expanse of his gray chest. Then he dropped his pants, exposing his little dick and smooth thighs, giving Clef a stir under the water, before he then grabbed up his clothes and flew over to where Clef's discarded clothes were, placing them on top of the pile of much larger clothing.

And then he came to Clef, floating silently before him to quietly ask, "What do I do?"

Clef smiled softly. "Sit your butt in the middle of the ring, with your legs over the side and your back supported by the sponge." Like an inner-tube at the beach – this may as well have been a small lake to Allegro. "It should support you."

Allegro did as instructed, lightly dropping down into the sponge-ring, relaxing into it. His wings dipped into the water behind him and he fluttered them, causing the sponge to drive around like a little boat and making Clef laugh out loud. The water sloshed and Allegro clung to the sponge, turning to glare up at Clef.

"Sorry," Clef said. "You're just too cute."

That only made Allegro glare harder, and then he turned away, relaxing into his floatation device again and simply resting quietly. Clef smiled, relaxed himself, and let his head fall against the wall behind him.

His eyes closed and, with nothing else to do, Clef's mind began to wander free. He thought about the contest, just a week away now, and what could happen if they were successful. Maybe they would make it big at last, like Aaron Lampwick had after his debut on the show, so many seasons ago; maybe they would put out their required one record, and then fade into obscurity, like that other contestant had. Winning was no guarantee of success. And what if they didn't win at all? Well... He supposed they would keep on as they were, trying their best.

Clef really didn't want that. He didn't want to work at Bullseye Mart forever, living in his grandparents' basement, struggling to pay off student loans for a degree that got him nowhere. They needed a break, because he really didn't think he could stand a future like that. Honestly, he would rather die.

"Yours is pretty big, huh?"

Clef cracked open his eyes to see Allegro looking down into the depths of the water, towards his crotch. Then his hands flew to his groin, covering himself as he blushed and sputtered, "Don't look there!"

For the most fleeting of moments, a smirk pulled at Allegro's lip. Quick as a blink and then it was gone, but it was worth the embarrassment Clef suffered to see it. "You've rubbed it all over me, but I'm not allowed to look?" Allegro questioned, his expression back to his near default state of 'humans are stupid'.

"That's..." Ridiculous, true. "Different." It would be a perfect segue into a conversation they needed to have – about whether what they were doing was okay, where they stood with each other, whether it would stop if Clef actually met someone – but no words came out. It was too awkward, and his tongue became paralyzed, unable to speak at all.

Before Clef could even try to hack up words that would lead to real talk, Allegro rolled himself off of the sponge-ring and into the water. It had never even occurred to Clef that the pixie might be able to swim – he certainly hadn't had the room for it in the bathroom sink – but Allegro seemed like a natural in the water, arms, legs, and wings all working in unison to propel him forward. He swam around Clef's legs and grabbed at his toes as if playing. As if he were happy for once.

Getting to spend the day together, to see and experience new things, must have done something wonderous for the moody pixie's temperament, and Clef couldn't stop the warmth beating through his heart at seeing Allegro so at-ease.

Allegro re-surfaced, flopped over his sponge, and shook out his wings, then he folded his arms on the edge of the sponge and rested his head on them while his legs kicked beneath the surface of the water. His eyes turned up to Clef, and he asked, "So, what's wrong?"

"Hm?" Clef responded. "Nothing."

"You were upset before."

Seemed there would be no escape. "Not really upset, but..." He thought for a moment about how to answer. "Lan's girlfriend turned him down. They won't be becoming lifemates after all."

Allegro's mouth turned down even as he said, "That's good for you."

"Not especially," Clef replied with a slow shrug. "They're still together, and even if they weren't, I'm not..." Good enough. "Lan's type."

Allegro just stared at him as if disbelieving.

"Lan really wanted it, though, so I was just... sad for him," Clef said to finish.

Allegro studied him a moment, then kicked to turn his sponge away, as if to hide his face, not wanting to give his thoughts away with his expression. Silently, he piloted his floating ring around, until Clef reached out and pushed Allegro's little, bare butt, knocking the pixie off the ring and into the water. He wanted the playful, happy Allegro of just a few moments ago back.

Allegro surfaced, sputtering, his long hair hanging in his face and fanning out around him in the water. He pushed the gray curtain of hair out of his eyes, and then glared hot at Clef, who only laughed at him. Then, like a shot, Allegro burst out of the water, flitting backwards a bit and then shooting forward again. He dove at the water, smacking himself against the surface in an attempt to splash Clef, though even using his whole body barely made a wave.

Clef laughed again, then used his hand to push a little splash at Allegro, careful not to actually drown or hurt the pixie. In retaliation, Allegro flew nearly to the ceiling, then tucked his limbs and wings into a ball, free-falling back into the water, creating a little splash. Before Clef could protect himself against another attack, Allegro again burst out of the water, cheeks puffed, and flew up to spit a stream into Clef's face.

"Gross!" Clef exclaimed, laughing as he wiped the water from his cheek.

Allegro landed on the tub's ledge, hands on hips, completely unconcerned with his nudity. "I'm not against fighting dirty," he declared.

"I'm aware," Clef replied, still chuckling as he reached for the body wash. He held the bottle out to Allegro, who lifted cupped hands to receive a dollop, before pumping some into his own hand, washing up at last. He stood and turned the shower on to shampoo his hair, starting to drain the tub as he did so, and he laughed again when Allegro followed suit, finding a single thread of the spray of water to rinse his own hair out in. "You're like a regular little human," Clef said as he turned the water off.

"Now who's gross?" was Allegro's snappy comeback. Clef could only laugh as he passed a dry washcloth to Allegro and grabbed a towel for himself.

Dried and donning comfy pajamas, ready to settle in for the night, they ended up in the living room, Clef laid out on the couch, spending their last evening alone in front of the large-screen TV. Clef put on a DVD – some flick about wizards that was super popular but he couldn't force himself to care about – and made himself comfortable, and he was surprised when Allegro flew over to sit beside him. He curled up by Clef's neck, not touching, but close enough that when his wings stretched or fluttered, they brushed Clef's chin.

"Is this okay?" Clef asked, hardly paying attention to the movie. "Being so close won't make you too... hot?"

Allegro turned to look at him, then finally answered, "It's okay. It hasn't been happening so much since... I got some relief."

That made sense, Clef supposed. It explained why Allegro was able to hide under his jacket when they rode to the restaurant. And so they settled back down as they were, though Clef found his eyes fixed on the back of Allegro's head instead of the TV screen.

Then a quiet scene in the movie began, the near silence being the only reason Clef was able to hear Allegro softly say, "I've never had a friend before. I've never... played with someone else before."

Clef's heart squeezed tight, and he moved his hand to lightly run a finger over Allegro's hair. Allegro turned again, the shadows cast over his face flickering, and then he climbed to his hands and knees, crawling over until he was sitting next to where Clef's head rested on a cushion.

And then Allegro kissed him.

It was so small, cute enough to make Clef's heart burst, and over in a second. Tiny lips pecked at a spot on Clef's upper lip, and then Allegro pulled away and stared, his brows creased and cautious. Then his gaze turned away as he said, "Sorry... That means something to pixies."

Clef's lip pulled into a small smile. "It means something to humans too." Then he leaned forward to press the smallest, softest little kiss possible to the side of Allegro's head. He didn't know if it meant the same thing to pixies as it did to humans; he didn't even know what he wished to convey with it himself. Right then, all he knew was that he cherished Allegro and whatever it was between them.

When he pulled away to look at Allegro, he found the gray gaze averted. He couldn't tell for sure in the dim light of the living room, but he could have sworn Allegro was blushing. Slowly, giving Allegro plenty of chances to push him away and say 'no', Clef lifted Allegro and began to pull his pajama top off of him, tugging the doll pajama pants down afterward, dropping everything to the floor when he was done. Allegro didn't comment or protest, letting it happen, and when Clef laid him flat on the couch, Allegro lay still, waiting.

Allegro wasn't hard. He wasn't whimpering or panting or keening with need. He didn't need Clef to get him off or provide relief from a burning that wracked his body, but Clef wanted to do it anyway. And when Clef propped himself up on one arm to lean over Allegro's prone form, face hovering close, Allegro didn't snap at him or push him away. The pixie's legs parted, inviting.

With just the tip of his tongue, Clef licked a line up Allegro's inner thigh, stopping at his groin, and then moved down to do it again. He teased, and only when Allegro gave a frustrated little moan did Clef finally run his tongue over Allegro's dick. The gasp Allegro let out was music.

Clef swiped his tongue again, and again, loving the sharp little intakes of breath Allegro gave with every pass. He loved the barely-there taste of Allegro when the pixie began to leak drops of precum, his arousal starting to show itself. Clef licked him until Allegro was hard and dripping – until, after two heavy breaths and a strangled groan, Allegro began to push on his nose, prompting Clef to move away.

"I- I want to do you too," Allegro said between deep breaths.

"You don't have to," Clef replied, though his own erection was starting to throb.

"I want to," Allegro said. "Before I can't think anymore."

Clef wasn't about to argue. He didn't want Allegro to feel pressured, but if he really wanted to do it, Clef wasn't against having a lovely little pixie ride his dick. So he moved back, pulling off his pajama top before laying on his back, head against the couch cushion again. Allegro hovered over him as he pulled his bottoms off, and as soon as his cock was freed, the pixie was on him, wrapping himself around the hard erection like his life depended on it.

Licking the tip, Allegro seemed to love the taste of Clef as much as Clef loved the taste of him. It took several swipes of that tiny, pink tongue to clean up all the precum that oozed from Clef's dick, and the sight of it was so hot, Clef could only sigh a moan as even more of the clear liquid dripped from him.

Allegro moved back, pushing the straining erection down so that he could mount it. He wrapped his legs around Clef's dick and planted his hands on it, then began to thrust his hips. He ground down, sliding his own soaking cock along Clef's; dragging his miniscule balls along the soft skin of Clef's shaft. Erection throbbing at the erotic scene before him, Allegro's panting moans every time he frotted against the flesh he rode drove Clef out of his mind. But there wasn't enough stimulation – not nearly enough.

Clef was on the verge of taking hold of himself, of grabbing the bulk of his dick that wasn't being touched and stroking himself off to the beautiful sight before him. Before he could, though, Allegro leaned forward and wrapped his arms around the hard erection as well, using his whole body, sliding up and down Clef's shaft as he continued to thrust his hips against him. His wings fluttered, moving him back and forth, jerking Clef off as he humped against him. Clef gave a small moan of encouragement, and he wanted to smile, but instead his mouth fell open and his cock pulsed when Allegro looked up at him, meeting Clef's gaze with lust-hazed eyes.

Another flood of precum shot from him, or maybe it was a mini-orgasm. He was so hot. Just watching Allegro go at it had Clef harder than he had ever been in his life. Even the mild stimulation had him close to coming, the sexy pixie making Clef lose his mind with lust and pleasure and want and need.

Then Allegro sat up again, stealing away the warmth and pleasure Clef craved. Moving down, Allegro pressed his hips against the tip of Clef's cock, thrusting against it a few times before he adjusted position and pushed forward. His dick slid easily into Clef's wet slit.

Clef gasped, shocked at the brand new sensation, being touched where he had never been touched before. It didn't hurt; Allegro's small dick provided just enough stretch to the untouched hole for Clef to feel it without pain, only a new kind of pleasure. And when Allegro began to push into Clef with hard thrusts, grabbing onto the head of Clef's erection as if trying to pull it onto himself, seeming to care only for his own pleasure, Clef could only hang on to the couch cushions and groan, enchanted.

Allegro moaned; his voice grew loud. The thrusting of his slim hips grew frantic. Clef couldn't take his eyes off of the desperate pixie using his body like a sleeve. A hard push, a strangled note cried out, and then Allegro went still, tense as he filled the tip of Clef's dick with cum. Clef could feel it spray into his sensitive hole, a growing but small pressure filling him, sending tingling waves of pleasure through him.

When Allegro was able to breathe again, he fell back onto the couch, his tiny, softening erection pulling from Clef's slit, unleashing a flow of precum and pixie seed. He panted from the exertion of a good fuck, and looked ready to pass out, eyelids already drooping.

"You little brat," Clef said with a world of affection in his voice as he climbed onto his knees. He took his still-needy cock in hand and began to jerk himself off, staring fond at the heaving pixie. "You said you would do me too."

"You said I didn't have to," Allegro replied, meeting Clef's gaze through half-lidded eyes.

"You said you wanted to."

A hint of a smirk crossed Allegro's face, and then he reached up, rubbing the head of Clef's cock with both hands while Clef stroked the shaft. It felt good, extra, added sensation to an already blissful jerk-off session, Allegro's adorable hands massaging him right to the brink of release.

Clef grunted as he came, pressing his dick against Allegro's body as he did so, sure he would never get tired of seeing the pixie covered with his cum. He painted a lovely layer of white over Allegro, emptying his balls until the stuff was running down Allegro's chest, onto the couch below.

Spent, Clef slumped to the side, laying against the back of the couch. He felt like all of his energy had been drained, like his life essence in its entirety was now soaking into a mess of a pixie. He wanted to roll over and go to sleep right there in the living room, but he had to get up and clean off the couch before the cushion became stained and rank.

So Clef forced himself up, flailing around the floor for his clothes, using the light from the movie – now on its menu screen, playing on repeat – to get dressed. When he glanced at Allegro, he found the pixie with closed eyes, breathing softly. He could rest for a short time.

In the bathroom, Clef filled the sink with warm water for Allegro's second bath of the evening, then returned to the living room. Carefully, he scooped up the sleeping pixie and carried him back to the bathroom. Only when Allegro was eased into the sink did he finally open his eyes and look at Clef.

"You're a mess," Clef said softly.

"It's your fault," Allegro replied, closing his eyes again and relaxing into the bath.

This time, Clef couldn't argue. He simply smiled, then left to scrub the evidence of their fling out of the couch cushions.


	16. Chapter 16

He ran, jumped, and delivered a flying high-five to Katie's awaiting hands as soon as he hit the sales floor. "We did it!" he cheered. "We made it through the first round!"

"Congratulations," Katie responded, smile bright and eyes twinkling.

"God, it was _such_ an experience."

It really was. The whole day had been a whirlwind, starting at seven o'clock in the morning in order to get their stuff packed up and make the drive to Apfelwein. Then there was a whole lot of waiting, relying on convenience store sandwiches and potato chips for sustenance, and fighting over the few outlets available to keep phones charged. They got to talk with many of the other contestants, and Clef was fascinated by the wide variety of people there, from opera vocalists and banjo-playing folk artists, to other grunge and garage bands like themselves. Some were nervous and some over-confident, but everyone seemed full of hope and a love for music.

When it was their turn for the live audition, they were instructed to quickly set up using the event hall's amps and drum set. Gaku had frowned quite a bit when he had learned he wouldn't be able to use his own drums for the audition, but the rules they had received beforehand explained that in order to keep things moving quickly, they had to use the hall's equipment, excepting portable instruments, like guitars or harmonicas. If they made it through to the next, televised rounds, then they could use their own stuff.

Gaku had just finished moving the borrowed drum set around to how he liked it when the judges came in and took seats at their long table. Clef had tried not to be outwardly star-struck, but found himself glad he had chosen to wear a black medical mask, as his jaw had surely dropped when faced with the line of industry executives and former top-billing artists.

Sassy, retired rock starlet, Joan Jaguar, threw a wink to Lan, saying, "My, you're a pretty one" before they could even introduce themselves.

"All right," Jefferson Conway interrupted. He was the no-nonsense one, known for telling untalented wannabes exactly how much they sucked and even talented hopefuls how far a bad attitude _won't_ take them. But he was also fair and honest, and was a pro at picking out those who had what it took to be famous. That was why his record label was one of the most successful, and why many said that he, more than any of the other judges, was the one to impress. "Before Joan succumbs to hormones, tell us who you are and where you're from."

"We're called 'Curse of ROM' and we're from Apricot Valley, here in Verger Province," Lan answered with a friendly and confident smile, seemingly completely unconcerned with the lights and cameras that surrounded them. If they made it to later rounds, everything that was said and done right then could end up in the promo video on TV, on the internet, maybe even on music blogs and YuuTube compilation clips.

To Clef, it was daunting.

"'Curse of ROM'?" Dwayne Cascade, another former star, questioned. "Who's Rom?"

Lan had only laughed and pointed a thumb behind him. "You'll have to ask him, but good luck getting him to tell you. We don't even know."

Gaku just smiled.

"What are you going to sing for us?" Debbie Frost, winner of the very first season of 'Music Factor' asked.

"We'll be doing an original song," Lan replied, making a couple eyebrows go up.

Jefferson sat back, arms crossed over his chest. "Do the rest of you talk?"

The other judges laughed when Clef, Cade, and Gaku all began shaking their heads in unison. Then Joan leaned forward, folding her hands on the table in front of her, a sparkle in her eye. "Well, I think you guys are adorable, and I can't wait to see what you've got."

"All right," Jefferson said shortly. "Let's hear it."

They tore into ' _Following Shadows_ ' with fire and fury, desperation and passion. They needed this, wanted it so bad, had worked so hard for it. And their hard work paid off. Every chord, note, beat was hit perfectly, a precise machine, working together as if they were a single organism born to make music.

Joan Jaguar bobbed along outright while Debbie Frost broke into a smile. Dwayne Cascade seemed to be nodding as if already having come to a decision, and, mostly hidden under the beef of his arm, Jefferson Conway's finger tapped along to the beat, completely caught up in their rhythm.

They had gotten four 'yes's that day, even if Jefferson's came with a snide, "I have a feeling if I say 'no', Joan will castrate me."

Heavy hands landed on Clef's shoulders, shaking him. "I can't believe you're going to be famous!" Mikey said from behind him, then stepped around to face everyone in their three-person huddle. "You'll have to introduce me to the elites when you've hit the big time."

"We haven't won yet," Clef responded with a laugh. "We just made it through the auditions."

"The _live_ auditions," Katie clarified.

"Yeah, but that's easy. Almost everyone passes that." Which wasn't entirely true. Maybe many people made it through the stages of producer after producer after producer reviewing the video submissions, but eventually the entries got whittled down. Only a handful made it to the live auditions, and even fewer made it further than that. That's what he had heard, anyway, but Clef played modest, afraid of cursing it by boasting so early on.

"Well, when you're famous, I'll be sure to tell everyone how we're best friends and _almost_ dated," Mikey joked.

"You do that," Clef replied with a snort. Honestly, though, he should probably keep his sexuality under wraps for the duration of the contest.

Before further comment or chit-chat could be made, Jackie breezed by them with a brusque, "Get to work, ladies."

Clef was all smiles through _most_ of his shift. Only the stupidest of stupid fucks could darken his mood, and in the end, even they just had him vowing to go further, to win it all, get the record deal, and get away from this horrible place.

Ten days until the next round. Clef concentrated on that alone as a customer screamed at him because the register wouldn't allow her to buy a two-hundred-dollar purse with her welfare card. When he actually smiled, mind a thousand miles away, remembering the voice of each judge as they praised the band's music and sent them on, the woman spat on his counter.

Clef's smile turned up by a million watts when security escorted the woman away.

His grandparents had congratulated him when Clef told them the news, but it was clear they didn't really understand the importance of the event. To them, it seemed to be just another contest, like when they entered Stacey into child beauty pageants as a kid. Like the pageants, even if they won, they would get a bit of prize money and then go back to their usual lives. Clef attributed it to age – elderly people weren't used to televised contests and social media launching people into extraordinary careers. They weren't excited for him, but they were happy for him, and that was enough.

Allegro, on the other hand, got it. Of course he had, given how much Clef had gone on and on about the event, about how crucial it was. When Clef arrived home that night and told Allegro the news, the pixie nodded as if it were the expected outcome. It meant the world to Clef, simple as the gesture was.

He had raised his palm to Allegro, and when Allegro just stared at the offered hand with a confused scowl, Clef laughed. "It's called a 'high-five'," Clef had said with an amused smile. "When humans wish to congratulate each other, we smack our hands together."

Allegro's eyes moved to meet Clef's gaze, and for a moment Clef had thought Allegro was going to tell him how stupid that was. He was pleasantly surprised – ecstatic, even – when instead, Allegro slapped his hand against his, making the tiniest clap.

Remembering the moment made Clef grin all over again as he slid into his repaired-at-last car after his shift was over. He had missed practice because of work, but that wasn't all that unusual, and he had to open the following day. Closing-opening back-to-back shifts sucked, but at least it would make the days until they could stand before an audience again go by quickly.

Allegro was in his little room when Clef got home, sounds of 'Rock Show's music and effects coming though. Clef had left his phone behind, since closing shifts tended to be long, and he would leave it for Allegro to play with the following day as well. He almost wished he could afford to get the pixie a phone of his own, giving them a way to communicate when apart, but unless Bullseye Mart suddenly decided to pay employees a little more than minimum wage, that wasn't going to happen.

When the sounds of the song ended, Allegro's door opened. "I beat your high score," he informed.

Clef couldn't help a snort of laughter. "Well, it was good while it lasted."

Blank-faced, Allegro lifted a hand, palm out, and Clef's heart and smile both were like the sun as he tapped their hands together.

For nine days, the band practiced furiously, as often as they could, until the long-ago memorized song was burned into the muscles of their hands. Clef could probably play the song in his sleep, yet still he practiced. He practiced by himself at home, playing the bass line he had written himself until late in the night, Allegro's watchful gaze letting him know how well he was doing. When he got too lax, Allegro spoke up, drawing Clef to focus; when he got too tired, Allegro insisted he go to bed, further enticing him by laying on Clef's pillow with the hem of his shirt just barely covering his crotch.

Even at his most exhausted, Clef always seemed to have the energy to entertain a needy pixie.

It was constant hard work, but Clef was sure he had never been so happy before. It felt good to have purpose and a goal, and it was nice to have someone to share his hopes and dreams and concerns with, even if he still didn't know where he stood with Allegro. That was something to worry about later, though; he didn't have time to stress out over what to call a sexual relationship with a pixie right then, especially when the relationship was working out just fine unnamed.

Two days before the contest, Lan said that would be their last practice before the show.

"If that's okay," he added. "I think we should spend tomorrow relaxing, so we can be fresh and ready the day of."

"But will you be relaxing?" Cade asked with a smirk that was as lecherous as it was know-it-all. "Or will you be at Lindsay's place aaaall night long~?"

"Well... Yes," was Lan's answer, despite it not being a yes or no question. It was probably both anyway.

"And Clef will be with his secret boyfriend."

"I don't have a secret boyfriend," Clef said, even as his ears went warm.

"You have absolutely been as chill as someone who's been getting laid on the regular," Cade countered. Before he could say anything further, though, Gaku interrupted him by holding up a hand.

"Cade will be with his girlfriend too." Then Gaku smiled and flexed his fingers.

"Well, nobody else will do it for me!"

Lan threw his hands over his ears, though there was a grin on his lip and amusement in his eyes. "I don't want to hear about your guys' 'relaxation techniques'." Then he brought his hands down, still smiling. "The point is, we'll have to get an early start on Wednesday, and we need to be well-rested. So do what you need to to get plenty of sleep and be ready to rock your little hearts out. Dig?"

They looked to each other in turn, smiles bright and hearts racing, and together they shared a nod.

Clef worked the opening shift at the store's café the day before the contest. He requested it on purpose, so he wouldn't have to take the day off entirely and wouldn't have to close, which would keep him up far too late. It had the added bonus of forcing him to get up early, which he hoped would leave him tired enough to fall asleep easily in the evening. Not that that plan had ever worked before in his life.

Evening rolled around with Clef staring into his closet, mind bare of ideas on what to wear. He stared until he was actively angry at himself for being so concerned about it – being gay didn't mean he was suddenly some kind of fashionista, and it wasn't like anyone would be looking at _him_ anyway.

With a huff, he plopped on the bed and tried to convince himself that all eyes would be on Lan, as usual, but it was difficult when he remembered that Bastian guy from the bar had recognized him after seeing only one show, so maybe people noticed him more than he credited them for.

"You're scared," Allegro commented, flying casually across Clef's field of vision.

"Just nervous," Clef replied. "This is a really big deal."

Allegro nodded, then studied Clef, his tiny, gray eyes seeming to bore deep into Clef's soul. Then Allegro flew at him, pushing at Clef's shoulder, though Clef didn't budge.

"What are you doing?"

"Lay down," Allegro instructed. "I'll help you relax."

Clef's cock twitched whether Allegro meant it like _that_ or not. Knowing Allegro, he likely meant it exactly like _that_ – Cade hadn't been wrong about him 'getting laid on the regular'. "I still have to pack."

"I'll do it for you after." He pushed again, more forcefully. "Now lay down."

So Clef lay down, telling himself he did so because anything to help him relax would be welcome, and not that he would simply do anything Allegro requested of him. And once his head had hit the pillow, Allegro was at his waist, tugging at the drawstring of his pajama pants. Clef helped yank his pants down, still feeling the usual flush of embarrassment at being exposed in front of someone, but nowhere near as much as he used to. He had grown comfortable with his body around Allegro.

Allegro landed on Clef's thigh, kneeling to rub at the barely-hard erection with both hands. The easy, simple stimulation felt nice, though it wouldn't be enough to get him off. Clef gave a small sound of appreciation anyway. Then Allegro stood, pulled his shirt off, and slid his pants down his trim hips, as if getting serious, and Clef could feel his dick swell.

Clef didn't know if Allegro understood that it was his pretty, little body that got him hard. He doubted Allegro would believe him if he told him. But Allegro did seem to know – either through instinct or the experience of the past several weeks – how to use that tiny body of his to make Clef feel _good_ , to wrap himself around Clef's dick and slide up and down it while lapping at the slit. He went slowly this time, in no rush, an easy, relaxing pace. His hands slid along Clef's shaft like a lover's embrace; his wings moved his body against the straining erection. His arms and legs tightening for a moment gave away the jolt of pleasure that must have shuddered through Allegro, but still the pixie kept the slow, leisurely pace.

When Allegro looked up to meet Clef's gaze while he took a long lick to lap up a bead of precum, Clef moaned. Nothing made him as hot or as hard as Allegro having his way with his dick. He thrust up, body demanding something fast and intense, but Allegro just rode up along with the movement, not giving Clef what he craved, staying in control despite his tiny size.

" _Fuck_ ," Clef groaned. He wanted to reach down and jerk himself off with Allegro's lovely, willing body, cover the pixie in his cum, then lick Allegro until he screamed. Instead, Clef gripped the sheets beneath him and watched with shallow breaths as Allegro continued to pump him slowly.

It was torture. The need for release continued to build, making Clef thrash, making him beg for more. Allegro's arms and legs continued to flex and squeeze around him, continued to slide all over, touching him everywhere he could reach. His tongue continued to lap at Clef's slit as if determined to drink up every drop of precum, long licks that sent crystals of pleasure glittering through Clef's groin. Allegro's own gasps and moans assaulted Clef's ears, driving through his body to his dick, making him throb harder. He would go insane if he didn't get to come – he wanted it to last forever.

His orgasm caught him by surprise, pouring out of him with a sharp intake of breath and then a pained gasp. Cum flowed form his pulsing cock, spilling over Allegro in a gentle flood that the pixie lapped at.

Before Clef was even finished shuddering out his release, Allegro pulled away to move to the tip of Clef's dick. The insertion was expected this time, accepted with a moan. Allegro's face went tight, mouth hanging open though no sound came from him. He pushed in four, five times, and then his teeth clamped together. The small rush of Allegro's cum filled Clef's softening erection, plugged by Allegro's still-rutting hips, until the pixie finally let out a gasp and fell back.

Clef's head fell back to his pillow, eyes closing as he took a couple deep breaths. He hadn't exerted himself at all, but for some reason his heart raced as though he had been running for his life – as though he were already on stage, making his dreams come true. His heart didn't calm until Allegro was curled up at his neck, tucked into the warm space beneath his chin, and then all the stress and exhaustion of the long day and a longer day to come bled out of him. Comforted, if only for a moment, the room fell silent.

"I'm going with you." Allegro's voice drifted up.

He had thought they had already discussed this. Turns out, he was wrong. "There won't be anything for you to do," Clef said, as he had said before. "You'll have to spend the entire time in my pocket."

"There won't be anything for me to do _here_ ," Allegro replied, voice bitter even as he snuggled closer against Clef's neck. "At least if I'm with you I can listen to new things." Then he paused, silent for a beat before adding, "I'll be careful."

That made sense, he supposed. When they had talked about it before, when Clef expressed that he thought Allegro should stay home for his own safety, promising to leave plenty of food and books for him, Allegro had simply scowled and turned away. He had thought it would be fine, even if he were gone overnight, but he didn't disagree with Allegro's opinion either. Even though it would be an added stress to what would inevitably be a stressful day, in the end, Clef simply answered, "If that's what you want."

Then he yawned. They left it at that.


	17. Chapter 17

A familiar ' _ding_ ' sounded from the crowd before him. Clef stopped playing, though somehow his bass's tone continued to fill the stadium, and he began patting his pockets, looking for his phone.

The sound came again, and Clef's eyes snapped open.

"Fuck!" He sprang out of bed as soon as his eyes landed on the clock – the clock he had forgot to set to wake him up. It was nearly five; he was supposed to be up almost an hour ago. "Why didn't you wake me up!?"

Allegro looked up at him blearily from the pillow, clearly still asleep himself. His only response was a slow blink.

Swiping his phone off the nightstand, Clef found two text messages from Lan, one saying he would be there in fifteen minutes, and the next asking far too politely if Clef could be waiting outside for him, because he didn't want to wake anyone by honking or knocking on the door. "Shit!" Clef cursed again. He had ten minutes to prepare for one of the biggest events of his life.

He picked his empty duffle bag up off the floor and threw it onto the bed, snapping, "You said you were going to pack for me," when Allegro finally deigned to get up and hover nearby.

"I fell asleep."

"You should have just let me do it last night, instead of being such a horn-dog all the time," Clef said as he snatched his pajama pants off the floor and threw them into the bag, tearing his shirt off to add it as well.

"I wanted to help you relax," Allegro replied with a crease to his brow before he flew over to his drawer of the doll dresser.

"Do I look relaxed now!?"

"You needed to sleep."

"I don't need sleep; I need to be ready!"

They glared at each other from across the room, then both turned and began getting dressed. Clef didn't have time to worry or stress over a 'cool' outfit; he just threw on the first few things his hand touched – a strappy kilt and a loose, long-sleeved shirt. A garage-sale leather jacket, gloves, and a handful of accessories were thrown into the duffle bag to sort out later. He was grateful most everything he owned was black, so he would match, at least.

When he went to fit in his pouch of toiletries – travel-size bottles of shampoo and body wash, toothbrush and paste, and a pencil of eyeliner – he found Allegro carefully laying his violin on top of everything. With a crease to his brow, Clef asked, "You're going to take that?"

Allegro turned to him with a hard look. "I need to be able to protect myself."

"It'll get broken."

"Then _be careful_ with it."

"Allegro." Then Clef sighed. He was beyond antsy. "We don't have time for this." But at Allegro's glare, Clef just swore again and ran upstairs. Lan would be here any moment, and Clef would _not_ be waiting outside for him.

He ran to the large stereo system hidden in a back corner of the dining room. Musical technology had changed dramatically and his grandparents had adapted, but, as always, they never got rid of anything. Along with the collection of classical and opera CDs and vinyl records was a shelf lined with dusty, old cassette tapes. Clef grabbed one at random – it wouldn't be missed – and took it to his room, removing the cassette as he breached the doorway.

"Wrap it in a soft cloth and put it in here," Clef said as he dropped the emptied cassette case on the bed. Then he began to pull on his tall, buckled boots as Allegro flitted to the pile of microfiber cloths Clef kept to clean his bass with.

By the time he had his boots on, Allegro was pulling on the zipper of the duffle bag, sealing everything safely inside. They might make it out on time after all, though it would require skipping breakfast and putting off a morning teeth-brushing until they stopped somewhere along the way. So with swift movements, Clef flung a small messenger bag over his shoulder and threw his phone, wallet, and keys into it. Then he held the flap open. "Get in."

Allegro darted into the bag and Clef loosely lowered the flap, leaving it so that Allegro could get some air and push it open if he needed to.

Doors locked, note to grandparents written, bag and bass in hands, Clef stepped off the front porch just as the headlights of Lan's car pulled into the driveway. The smile Lan gave as Clef approached was wan, tired, and sent a tremor through Clef. If Lan really was up with Lindsay all night, he would be exhausted before they ever even reached the stage. It made Clef frown with worry and jealousy both.

Conversation was light as they began the journey to Cognac. Mostly Lan was quiet, further causing Clef to worry about the singer's energy levels holding out. If Clef were as chatty as Cade, maybe he would have filled in the empty silence with his own voice, letting words spill out of him, but Cade was riding with Gaku, making sure the drummer didn't get helplessly lost. So they discussed the basics – how nervous they were, how sure Lan was that they would do fine, when they would stop for a quick breakfast – but mostly the trip was quiet, with mostly just soft music from the radio and the voice of the GPS system taking up the silent slack.

Via text, they managed to meet up with Gaku and Cade for gas and grub at a service station a couple hours into the trip. The diner there was full of truckers and a couple who looked stoned out of their minds, but the food was all right. And though Clef was sure he had been stealthy enough when he pretended to eat a handful of grapes from his fruit cup, then lowered his hand beneath the table to slip them into his bag, when he looked back up, he found Gaku smiling at him.

They didn't linger too long, and soon they were back on the road again. They made it to the arena with half an hour to spare before the check-in deadline. Then they waited; they were used to that by now.

There were nine other acts, selected from across two provinces. Two would be selected to move on to the final, where they would meet up with eight other acts from around the country. Everyone waited in a room together, some warming up silently by themselves, some chatting with their mates or other contestants. They hadn't been waiting fifteen minutes before Cade bounced out of his chair and sat next to a cute, chubby girl holding a sheet of music across the room.

Clef rolled his eyes, then looked to Lan, who sat slumped in his chair, gaze glued to the floor and frown pulling at his perfect lips. He wanted to say something, find out if Lan was alright, offer to fetch a cup of coffee for him or something. Before he could say anything, though, Gaku asked, "Lan's okay?"

Lan's eyes shot to the drummer as if startled at hearing his own name, but then he seemed to recognize what was being asked of him, and he let out a breath. "Yeah, man. Just tired."

"Do you want some coffee?" Clef finally asked. Almost immediately, he felt a muffled kicking from where his bag laid at his side. _Somebody_ wanted coffee, anyway.

"Nah, I'm good," Lan answered, giving a small smile. "I don't feel like wearing it all day."

Clef was about to go get some anyway, to placate the monster in his bag, when a pair of staff members entered the room, calling for everyone's attention. Cade rejoined them as the room slowly quieted down, and they listened as the staff outlined the day's flow and went over any rules. It was all standard and expected stuff, but an electricity seemed to accumulate in the room the more they talked.

The contestants were also given the order in which they would perform.

'Curse of ROM' would go sixth. Right in the fucking middle of the program, when people would be paying the least amount of attention.

Something amazing would have to happen for them to get people's votes.

As they were dismissed for a few hours to eat or rest or get in one last practice before the show went on, Clef began to wonder if they had really chosen the best song for this. They went with ' _My Heart, Against My Will_ ', and while he was honored that they thought his song was good enough to possibly stake their future on, it was a slower song. It wouldn't get people out of their seats and cheering; it wouldn't leave people talking about how awesome the band was; it wouldn't have viewers diving for their phones to cast their votes. It was low-energy, and that might not be what moved people at this stage.

But Lan himself had suggested they do the song, and Clef trusted him. They would make it work. They had to – it was too late to submit something different to the producers.

Clef excused himself to the bathroom before they headed off to McDurian's, stopping by a vending machine to get a canned coffee along the way. It was a public restroom, though, two guys already at the urinals when he entered, so he ducked into a stall and shut the door, taking a seat on the toilet lid.

He held a finger to his lips as he lifted the flap of his bag, prompting Allegro to keep his mouth shut as he escaped the dark confines. Then Clef took out his phone, pulled up the notepad app., and typed, ' _If you want to sneak out and look around when we're setting up, you can. Just be careful and don't get lost_.' He smiled when Allegro nodded; it would be nice to know the pixie was watching while they performed. ' _You should probably be back in the bag before we get off the stage, though_ ', he added. ' _But it still won't be for a few hours anyway_.'

Allegro nodded again – his reading had come a long way; Clef felt a throb of pride pound through him.

Then Clef slowly, as quietly as possible, cracked open the can of coffee. He had heard the bathroom door open and close a couple times, didn't currently hear any sounds from outside the stall, but it was better to be safe than sorry, since he couldn't exactly peek out there without looking suspicious.

Allegro sniffed the contents and his wings gave a happy flutter, even if his face remained passive. So Clef tipped the can forward, allowing the coffee to dribble out slowly while Allegro slurped it up. Just enough for a treat – Clef didn't need the pixie buzzing around inside his bag all day – then Clef pulled the can away. He brought it to his own lips like he was just going to take a sip, then threw his head back and downed the entire rest of the can.

That earned him a dark scowl, and he was trying to stifle his laughter and fend off pixie-kicks to the face when he heard the bathroom door open again.

"Well, look who it is," a voice said. "What are you doing, hiding out in here?"

So Clef hadn't been alone, after all. He couldn't imagine why someone else would be hiding in the bathroom, though, unless they were very shy. Or perhaps he wasn't the only one here hiding a pixie in his pocket.

Whoever it was hiding didn't respond; instead, the first voice came again, nearly spitting, "Why don't you just leave? There's no way you're going to win this. They just let you on to fulfil their faggot quota."

Clef's teeth clamped together, blood flash-boiling.

"Nobody's going to vote for a scrawny pansy."

Swift and light footsteps headed toward the door, but were abruptly halted with the sound of meat hitting tile. A softer voice whimpered, then said, "Let me go."

"What would happen if I dumped that soap down your throat? Bet it would ruin your voice, huh? Or maybe I should wrap my hands around your neck and crush everything inside."

Another whimper was barely heard as Clef's boot collided with the stall door, kicking it open hard enough that it slammed loud against the stall frame, metal colliding with metal. He let his feet fall heavy as he crossed the bathroom, stomping his way to where a bully held a skinny, blond kid against the wall.

"The fuck do you want?" the bully sneered.

There was a snarl on Clef's lip as he said, "Let him go."

The guy looked Clef up and down with fire in his eyes. Clef wasn't especially tall, but he definitely had a weight advantage. Moreover, the guy was now outnumbered, and even if the blond kid didn't fight, it would still be two voices against one on who the instigator was if they went to the producers – or worse, the press – if there was an altercation.

The bully seemed to realize all this – at least he wasn't completely stupid – and eventually jerked his hand away, letting the kid go. He spat, "Fuck you homos," needing to have the last word as he stormed out of the bathroom.

"Are you alright?" Clef asked as he turned back to the kid, who was cowering against the wall, clutching his bag to his chest as if it held everything precious in the world. He was scared, nearly shaking, and without knowing what else to say, Clef added, "He feels threatened by you; that's why he came after you. You must be really good."

The kid remained still, eyes wavering and wet. Then he whispered, "I didn't even want to be here," before lowering his head and bolting out the door.

Clef frowned but he supposed it wasn't any of his business. He went back to the stall he had been in to fetch his coffee can and his pixie, and found Allegro hovering with hands on hips.

"Aren't you the hero," Allegro said.

"I can't stand guys like that," Clef replied aloud, knowing they were alone now. "They don't really love music, and..." His lip twitched a sneer. "They look down on gay people."

Allegro didn't reply, but his face slowly turned to angry, lips turning down and scowl deepening, like he was coming to understand.

Clef didn't want to dwell, so he grabbed the empty can and held open the flap of his bag. "Come on; let's go."

Still, he hoped that kid was okay.

The chatter in the green room seemed to swell to deafening until the show started, and then it went nearly silent. Screens around the room showed what viewers at home would be seeing, the electric music of the show's intro revving them up as they watched with rapt attention. Some people cheered when they saw themselves – clips from the auditions intermixed with animated shapes and colors – as a voiceover hyped the show. Clef wanted to hide when 'Curse of ROM' appeared on the screen – the camera added way more than ten pounds to him.

Nobody cheered when it showed the kid Clef had encountered in the bathroom. The after-break roll-call told Clef his name was Benjamin Brightly, and though there was no sound to the audition clips, when the camera cut to the judges listening to Benjamin sing, Jefferson Conway looked absolutely smitten.

Clef looked towards where Benjamin sat alone, not looking at the screens at all. Instead, he seemed to be staring into his bag as if salvation were in there. It made Clef's hand drift to his own bag, resting over the space between the flap and the bag's opening. A small hand reached out to give a reassuring poke to Clef's palm, letting him know he was still in there.

A jolt shot through Clef like he had been struck. He wondered if it were possible; could it be that someone else had their world invaded by a magical little pest? Benjamin had said he didn't want to be there – what if he were convinced or forced to enter by someone he found himself unable to say no to?

Without thinking about it, Clef stood, but then his feet froze.

He had nearly forgotten that Allegro was being hunted. If, by some crazy chance, there were another pixie around, it could be dangerous. That could be the whole scheme – force the boy into fame so that he had the means to travel around, giving the queensman the opportunity to search out the escapee.

Confronting Benjamin about it could be the worst thing he could do.

"Gotta piss again?" Cade asked, smirking. Clef had already excused himself to the bathroom three times, only one of which was to actually relieve himself.

"No," Clef replied, coming out of his thoughts. Ultimately, if he could find anything out and possibly warn Allegro without letting on what was in his own bag, it would be an advantage. "I ran into that kid over there earlier, so I'm just going to go say hi." Then he stepped away, heading towards where Benjamin sat.

He didn't see anything that clued him in one way or the other as he approached the boy, but he noted that Benjamin wasn't talking at all, just staring into his bag with trepidation in his eyes. He looked up sharply when Clef closed in, gasping in a breath and quickly clutching his bag to his chest.

Clef tried his friendliest smile. "Hey," he greeted casually. And when the kid just stared at him as if hoping to turn invisible, Clef added, "I just wanted to see how you were doing."

Benjamin's eyes turned down. Eventually, he answered a quiet, "I'm fine."

"That guy didn't say anything to you again, did he?"

Benjamin shook his head, and Clef smiled.

"So, where are you from?" Clef asked next, taking a seat next to Benjamin. He would try to get the kind's iron-clad guard down first. On the screen behind him, the hosts were on stage, introducing the judges, doing their thing.

"From... Himbeergeist..." Benjamin answered slowly.

"Oh?" Clef perked up, his interest a little more genuine. "I grew up there. How are things in the big city?" And though Benjamin just shrugged, Clef kept the conversation going. "Lucky you that the round after this is in your hometown. You won't have to travel so far next time."

Benjamin's head seemed to sink into his shoulders, as if trying to cower, like he didn't believe he would get through tonight. He simply answered, "I guess..."

"You're going on last, right? That's a good place. You'll be fresh in people's minds when voting opens." Another shrug had Clef trying to veer closer to the point. "My band and I are sixth. It's, like, the suckiest position." Then he smiled when Benjamin finally looked up at him, and he patted his bag lightly. "Luckily, I brought a good-luck charm."

Eyes pulling away again, Benjamin clutched his bag more tightly.

"Do you have anything like that?" Clef asked with a smile. "A lucky item or... something that makes you feel safe and secure?"

Benjamin went stiff for a moment, and then he hunched further, as if trying to curl in on his bag. "No, I don't have anything like that."

"That's too bad," Clef replied. "It's really fun. Do you want to see mine?" He would show just part of Allegro. Probably, the kid would think it was a keychain or something, but if he did understand what he was looking at, it would prove he did have experience with pixies. If that were the case... Clef was ready to fight for Allegro if he had to, but hopefully it wouldn't come to that. Hopefully, insisting it was just a keychain would work.

That was the plan, anyway, but before he could do anything, Benjamin suddenly stood and said, "Excuse me, I have to go to the bathroom," then fled from the room.

Clef just watched him go. He couldn't follow the kid to the bathroom without looking like a creep, and continuing to push to see what was in his bag could get him accused of harassment. He was at a dead-end, unless he could come up with a better plan, and Clef just wasn't smart enough for that.

At least Allegro would remain safe.

He returned to his band, where Cade commented, "Strike out?"

Clef stared hard at him, brows drawn tightly together, before he asked, "Do you think I was hitting on him?"

"I don't know," Cade answered quickly, suddenly defensive.

"He's, like, _ten_."

Gaku butted in with, "You must be fifteen to enter the contest."

"That is still way too young for me!" Clef plopped into a chair then, muttering, "I hate all of you." Then he glanced over to Lan, expecting some kind of comment about how he hadn't said anything, but the singer just continued to stare off into space, oblivious to everything around him.

Seeming to follow Clef's train of concern, Cade tapped Lan's foot with his own, saying, "Dude, take a nap. You look like you're about to keel over."

Lan's gaze turned to Cade and he gave a smile. "I'm alright. Just got a lot on my mind. Nervous."

Clef's voice went quiet. "I've never known you to get nervous before."

Before any response could come, a cheer sounded throughout the room. The judges' introductions and banter were done, rules and how to vote had been gone over, and some three sets of commercials had been played. Finally, the first act had appeared on stage, and tension in the room spiked. The contest was finally underway for real.

The girl singing some trendy pop song was good, as anyone appearing at this stage should be. Her performance was flawless, and afterwards the judges praised her voice and her presence, looking at her as if she were already an idol. The show had kicked off with the bar set _really_ high.

Once again, a shiver of doubt ran through Clef. They needed this _so_ bad, but the other contestants were so good. Even the bully Clef had run into before, playing drums for the one other full band performing that night, was impressive. Everyone here had what it took to win, and 'Curse of ROM's best weapon – the gorgeous and charismatic Landler Chanson – had spent the entire day acting like a distracted zombie.

Clef rested his hand on the corner of his bag, comforted by the poke that came to his palm.

Benjamin came back into the green room after a few acts had gone on, head bowed and eyes downcast. His small hand kept a tight hold on the strap of his bag. Clef wouldn't try to talk to him again – it would be more likely to scare the kid off for good than get him to relinquish secrets. But Clef kept an eye on him, as furtively as possible.

When the fifth act was called to get ready, Clef and the others were as well, needing more time to prepare than those singing to recorded music. Their instruments had been stored in a secured area, and as they began to carry everything to the backstage area, Clef's heart started to pound. So much was riding on this, and as he glanced to Lan, who was giving a short interview for the cameras that would be played right after their pre-performance commercial break, Clef felt a level of unease he had never gotten from a performance before.

"I'm going to check my tuning," Clef said, receiving acknowledging nods from Gaku and Cade, who were checking their own instruments, before he slipped off to an empty corner.

He slipped his bag over his shoulder, then crouched down and opened it up. Allegro flew out cautiously, sticking close to Clef.

"We're on next," Clef said as he stood and slipped the strap of his bass on. At Allegro's nod, he added, "Over there you'll see a square of white tape on the floor with our cases in it. I'll leave my bag there while we perform, so be sure to go back into it before we're done."

Allegro nodded again and moved to fly off, but stopped when Clef suddenly, softly, called his name.

"Please..." Clef's heart thudded heavy; he wasn't sure he was going to live through today. "Be careful."

Allegro blinked slowly, and then darted suddenly up to Clef's face. He kissed Clef on the nose, breathed a "Good luck," then took off before Clef could respond.

Clef stood still for a moment, shocked stupid, and then smiled.


	18. Chapter 18

It was time.

After making sure his tuning was perfect, Clef returned to his friends, dropping his bag off along the way. The act before theirs had finished and was receiving comments from the judges; during the commercial break, Gaku's drums, set up on a wheeled platform, would be pushed out and locked into place, and then they would show the world what they had.

Lan's arm lifted as Clef approached, slipping it over his shoulders, pulling him into the huddle. The four of them put their heads together, drawing energy and inspiration from each other. Then Lan spoke, saying, "No matter what happens here, we're a team. We'll move forward together."

Clef felt himself nod along with the others. It was the last bit of calm before a flurry stormed through the backstage. The duo who had just finished performing came off, the hosts called for commercial, and then everyone began moving.

Gaku practically ran after the backstage staff who began pushing the drum platform onto the stage. He gripped his sticks in tight fists, as if ready to fight to protect his instrument. Cade followed behind him, his black coat swirling as he turned to head out.

Clef took a step to follow, but stopped when a hand took his. He looked back, meeting Lan's gaze for a moment as electricity passed between their hands, and then Lan smiled soft. "Let's do this."

Clef smiled back, nodded a "Yeah," but his heart wouldn't stop pounding as he stepped onto the stage. The heavy curtain that appeared before him was the only thing separating him from the eyes of a million people, all ready to judge him and his music.

The stage director's countdown was like a ticking timebomb. For a moment, everything went silent, and Clef thought he had fallen asleep until the curtain rose like waking. The show's theme music played, the crowd exploded into cheers, and _most_ of the judges smiled.

"There you are," Joan Jaguar said. "I missed you."

Lan gave a charming smile, but otherwise remained silent. Clef cast a worried glance his way, and it hit him for not the first time that there was something wrong with Lan beyond just being tired.

His eyes went up, searching the rafters for his 'good-luck charm'. He didn't see Allegro anywhere, though, and the unease in his gut began to spoil.

"Where did your spark go?" Joan asked then, drawing Clef's attention back to the table that stood before the stage. Joan's brows were slanted up with concern, as were Debbie Frost's. "You don't have the same life you did before."

While Clef told himself that with the hundreds of auditions the judges must have watched over the past couple of weeks, there was no way they could have actually remembered them, Lan upheld his smile and answered with a simple, "No, I don't."

Something in the reply broke Clef's heart.

"So what's it going to be this time," Jefferson Conway cut in, not letting personal drama and chit-chat interfere with his show – not unscripted, anyway. "Another original?"

"Yes, Sir," Lan answered with a nod.

"Get on with it, then."

So Lan stepped back, they paused a beat, and then it began.

Their music came out perfect, the gut-wrenching tone filling the arena. There were no shouts, no cheering, but somehow Clef got the feeling they had everyone's attention. The few faces he could see in the audience, between the gaps of blinding stage lights, held rapt curiosity and baited, wide eyes.

And then Lan began to sing.

It was haunting, that voice of his. It rang through the arena, sorrowful and broken in a way it never had been before. It stung somehow, that sound of someone who had lost everything. Lan's voice held such melancholy and _pain_ , such mourning, that before Clef had realized it, there were tears running down his face.

He wasn't the only one. At the judges' table, Debbie Frost sat with a hand over her mouth, tear tracks cutting through her makeup. Joan Jaguar looked close to the same. Some of the audience members too were dabbing at their eyes, jaws hanging open, caught up in Lan's somber spell.

Clef's fingers played on flawlessly, but his heart was screaming for the song to end. He needed the torture to stop, lest his soul never recover. Though perhaps a death by Lan's voice wouldn't be the worst thing.

The song came to a close at last – Clef hardly noticed. For a moment, it seemed nobody else did either, silence gripping the arena, a collective held breath, until at last people began to cheer. Applause rose like a wave, starting small but quickly rising in intensity until it crashed over them. A worried glance to Lan showed the singer standing still, face turned up as if too scared to look towards heaven but needing to all the same. A small smile clung to his lips, but his brow was creased in pain, the stage lights glinting angelic off of his bright hair.

Clef's heart seized.

He had thought he couldn’t be any more in love with Lan.

"Who hurt you, love?" Joan asked, getting the show back on track. A subdued trickle of laughter sounded throughout the audience; Lan's smile perked up a fake centimeter.

"That was amazing," Debbie said. "There was so much _emotion_ in your music, like a whole tragic story had been told. I've never heard anything like it." Then she smiled and held up a tissue she had been clutching. "Look, you've got me crying!"

"Big guy over here is too," Dwayne Cascade said, face breaking into a smile. Another murmur of laughter whispered through the audience, and Clef turned around, swiping a sleeve over his damp cheeks.

When he turned back around, he found Joan looking at him with a gentle, almost _knowing_ smile on her face. Then her eyes turned back to Lan, the obvious leader. "I agree with Debbie," she said. "That was a very powerful song. Everything about it was simply marvelous. A person would have to be completely heartless not to have been moved by your performance."

"Not only the singing," Dwayne added. "The playing was _on point_. Everything really came together. I'm absolutely impressed."

"Thank you," Lan said gently, and Clef felt himself nodding as well.

Then it was Jefferson's turn to speak. Clef held his breath as the judge tapped a pen against the table. "I'll be honest," Jefferson started. "That was a risky song to do. At this point, you need to grab people's attention, and that's hard to do with a ballad." His words echoed Clef's earlier worries. " _But_." Then Jefferson paused and gave a twist of his wrist, a shrug with his fingers. "I think you nailed it."

A smile broke over Clef's face at last, and he looked over to meet Lan's gaze. Something passed between them – something unstoppable. Together, they could go so far.

All of them. The four of them could do anything, and Clef's eyes moved to connect with Cade, Gaku, his band, his team.

"While I'm loathe to agree with Joan," Jefferson continued. "I do believe that song can move people. It won't be easily forgotten. Good job."

Clef was almost scared to be hopeful. They had gotten praise from _Jefferson Conway_ , of all people, and that meant a lot, but whether they continued on or not wasn't up to the judges anymore. It was up to the viewers, people all across the country who would cast the votes they desperately needed.

"Thank you," Lan said again, a little breathlessly this time, sounding as if he had forgotten to breathe for a moment.

Jefferson waved a hand as if to shoo them away then, saying, "Good luck, then. Off with you," but a smile played on his face.

They had barely left the stage, the curtain closing behind them, when Clef felt himself grabbed from behind. He startled a moment as toned arms slipped around him and a face buried into his neck, but he recognized the warmth and the scent – he recognized the guitar that dug into his back. "Lan?"

"Thank you," Lan said, too softly for the cameras and microphones that surrounded them to pick up. "For your song."

Clef was still for a moment, his only movement being the heavy thudding of his heart, and then he shook his head. "Thank _you_ for giving it life." Then he pulled away, loathe as he was to do so, lest any of the viewers at home come to think they were anything more than bandmates and it cost them votes.

They waved to the cameras, cheering for themselves enthusiastically and hoping it was contagious, and passed out high-fives to Cade and Gaku. Only when the backstage screens showed that the feed had gone to commercial did they finally let their exhaustion show, the excitement and adrenaline bleeding out of them like sand, leaving only dust and stress.

And hope. They had performed well; they had been praised; they had hope.

Clef packed his bass away and carefully slung his bag across his shoulders. He put his hand over the gap, not feeling fully relieved until he felt Allegro's poke, assuring him the pixie had made it back safely. He couldn't wait to talk with Allegro and see what the tiny expert had thought about their performance.

They returned to the green room to a smattering of cheers, same as they had given the contestants before them. Some of the girls seemed to be staring at Lan even harder than they had been before, and even some of the guys looked at them with some kind of new musical appreciation.

Benjamin didn't applaud for them, or even look at them. He just sat alone, clutching his bag and staring into an empty corner.

Following Lan to a cluster of chairs that would sit all of them, Cade launched into how awesome it had felt to stand on stage in front of so many people and play with so many eyes on him. Clef understood completely – it had been terrifying and exhilarating to have such an audience, to be heard all across the country – but he only found himself nodding along to Cade's words, and then it fell silent.

Silent until Clef looked up suddenly, brows knit so tightly it almost hurt. He let his gaze bore into Lan, heavy and demanding, but his voice was soft when he asked, "What happened?"

Time stood still for a long stretch, as if Clef had asked something forbidden and the gods were trying to decide if they should press the reset button or not. But then Lan looked down at his hands, and the clocks began to tick forward again.

"Lindsay... broke up with me," Lan replied carefully, like he was trying to let them down easy.

"Oh." Clef said slowly, lamely. What a piece of shit he was. "I'm sorry..."

Lan shook his head. "Things just haven't been the same since... Since her birthday." Since the proposal. "Right now, we want different things and to go about them in different ways. She's decided to go for a doctorate degree and... She wants to focus on that with everything she has." His lips rose into a sad smile. "I admire her."

Clef felt like absolute garbage. He wanted to comfort Lan, but didn't know what to say. He couldn't even move – Cade was the one to clap Lan on the shoulder in a show of support, summing the situation up with a simple, "That sucks."

Lan chuckled at that, but it soon faded. "I can't tell if the timing is unfortunate or not."

The soulful and devastated voice Lan had sung with had been true, his real and raw emotions laid bare for all to see. He could sing with such pain in his voice because he really felt it, and it had come through so clearly.

Still, Clef wouldn't be thanking Lindsay anytime soon.

"You'll be okay?" Gaku asked.

"Honestly?" Lan returned. "It'll be an adjustment. We've been together so long, it'll be strange to not talk to her each night or buy her something I know she'll love. But..." Then his smile came back. "I have something I need to focus on with everything I have too."

They each smiled in turn, resolution blooming between them. Lan was resilient; he would become stronger from this, and his friends would be there to support him.

Their attention turned back to the screens, watching the other performers. They commented on the competition and about the contest itself and other things, but any thoughts they had about Lan's situation, they kept to themselves. Clef did briefly think about what his chances with Lan were now, but he quickly quashed that. His chances were still and eternally _zero_.

Eventually, the staff called for Benjamin Brightly, the last contestant. Clef counted a few breaths after Benjamin had left the room, then stood from his chair. "I'm going to the bathroom."

"Again?" Cade smirked.

"I want to make sure I'm empty before we go back out to hear the winners."

That was his excuse, but he didn't head for the bathrooms. In the opposite direction was the door leading to the backstage, Benjamin's small back disappearing through it in the distance.

Clef rushed after the boy. The thought of going through Benjamin's stuff while he performed was abhorrent to Clef – unlike his family, he wasn't okay with disrespecting other people's property – and he didn't think he would be able to with security watching over things anyway, but he wanted to at least watch what Benjamin was up to. If there was a pixie or something in his bag, it might want to come out for a little bit, like Allegro had.

"Hey," Clef said timidly to the staff member guarding the backstage door. He hoped she recognized him from when he performed, just a little while ago. "I lost something when I was up here with my band." He touched the sticker on his shirt displaying the serial number that marked him as a contestant. "Would it be all right if I looked around for it real quick? I'll make sure I don't get in anyone's way."

She nodded as if fine with it, but then asked, "What did you lose?"

"A keychain," Clef answered. "Shaped like a fairy." He would have to actually get one someday.

"All right," she said as she tilted her head towards the backstage, giving her permission.

"Thanks." Then Clef slipped into the semi-darkness of the backstage.

He found Benjamin easily, and immediately hung back so as not to be seen. He pretended to search around behind some equipment, but kept his gaze on where Benjamin was giving his interview with one of the hosts before a camera. The boy's eyes were downcast, the microphone had to be held close to his head to pick up his voice, and his hands twisted the strap of the bag still slung across his chest. He looked like he would bolt at any moment.

Instead, the host smiled and patted Benjamin on the back, then moved away, the camera following close behind.

The backstage director said something to Benjamin, probably a notice that he would be going out in a few minutes if the music Clef heard was anything to go by, and, after a shy nod, Benjamin went over to the white-taped square. He pulled his bag off and crouched to set it down, but then stopped. Clef held his breath as he watched Benjamin stare at the bag for a stretched second, and then the bag was opened.

Clef's jaw dropped and his held breath slowly whispered out of him when he saw the treasure Benjamin pulled from the bag. It was beautiful and intricate, a gorgeous piece of art that Clef recognized immediately, planting a kinship in his heart.

It was a doll, and a lovely one at that. Clef even recognized the brand, one of the higher-end sculpts that some would scream should be kept in a protective, locked case and not carried around in a bag. But from the way Benjamin smoothed down the doll's frazzled hair and delicately ran fingers down her little arm, Clef got the feeling the doll went everywhere with him, and was very loved.

And from the way Benjamin suddenly looked around him, then slipped the doll back into his bag, Clef was sure the boy had also suffered some harsh treatment because of the doll. He wondered if Benjamin had ever been called 'retarded' by his own family.

The commercial music started and Benjamin took his place behind the closed curtain, following the stage director's instructions. Clef took that as his clue to beat it. He had learned what he had come to find out, and wanted to watch Benjamin perform besides. So he returned to the backstage door, told the staff he couldn't find his keychain but could she please let him know if it turned up? And then he hustled back to the green room.

"You almost missed your friend," Cade said as Clef took his seat and angled himself towards the screen. His comment went mostly ignored and the room went silent as the show came back from the commercial break. It seemed everyone had been curious about the silent and scared ghost of a boy.

They showed the recorded interview, where the host asked Benjamin how he thought he was going to do, to which the boy just shrugged. When the host asked if he was nervous, Benjamin gave a quiet, "Yeah."

"Well, do your best," the host said and patted Benjamin on the back, a gesture Clef had witnessed live just minutes before.

Then the scene cut to the stage curtains opening and the audience cheering. Benjamin looked tiny, standing in the center of the stage all alone, gripping his microphone in a tight fist. When Debbie greeted him from the judges' table, Benjamin shyly and inaudibly returned it, then seemed to remember how to use a microphone and tried again. Someone in the audience yelled out, "Aww!" which didn't seem to help the boy's nerves any.

"Are you scared, little one?" Joan asked, and at Benjamin's nod she gave a soft smile. "You needn't be, love. I just know they're going to love you."

Something in her words made Clef realize they hadn't played any clips from Benjamin's audition, like they didn't want to give anything away – like they were keeping his power level hidden for maximum shock value.

Clef shivered; he had the distinct impression they were in for a treat.

"Tell me," Jefferson asked, voice brusque like he was annoyed by Benjamin's timid responses. "Do you think you can win this?" When Benjamin only shrugged, he asked, "Then why are you here?"

Benjamin's hands seemed to tighten around the microphone as his shoulders drew in, curling in on himself. Then he finally answered, "My mom signed me up."

Clef could almost feel the wave of shock that went through the audience. The screen cut to the audience members leaning in to whisper to each other with cynical looks on their faces. Some of them seemed to be mouthing, "Then go home," like they were angry that Benjamin was taking a spot on the show away from someone more serious about music. Clef wasn't sure if he agreed with them or not.

Debbie seemed to sense the atmosphere, and she asked in a gentle voice, "Do you like singing?" At Benjamin's nod, she smiled. "Then you have every right to be here."

"Jefferson is just being a brat," Joan said.

"What? I just asked why he's here," Jefferson shot back defensively.

"It's the _way_ you asked it!"

Their bickering brought the tiniest hint of a smile to Benjamin's face, and whether that was the intention or not, it seemed to brighten up the whole arena.

"Can we hear the boy sing?" Dwayne asked with clearly feigned annoyance. "Or do we have to wait for you two to excuse yourselves to a room?"

It was agreed that they needed to get on with the show, the house lights dimmed, and a hush fell over the entire arena. Benjamin stood, alone and afraid in the center of the stage, clutching his microphone as he waited for the music to begin.

A single piano note sounded, and then the arena burst into music, something upbeat and uplifting and vaguely familiar. The audience began to clap along with the music, the cameras this time showing smiling faces and tapping feet. They were into it already, and when the music dipped and Benjamin began to sing, the crowd screamed.

His voice was effortlessly angelic, flowing out from him as soft and clear as sunlight. There was emotion in his singing that he didn't seem able to express when speaking, his face taking on a world of expression, drawing everyone in.

Clef realized his jaw had dropped as his eyes glued to the screen before him, but he was helpless to do anything about it. The voice, the song, the _aura_ that Benjamin radiated was performance perfection. That shithead bully from before had a reason to be scared, because all of them had just been blown out of the water. And when most everyone in the green room began to clap along with the song, Clef felt an odd sense of pride.

The song ended on a sparkling piano outro and Benjamin breathing heavy, the camera's close-up shot showing his green eyes looking scared and hopeful, moving as if searching for something. The audience's cheers were unending, everyone in the arena, including the judges, rising to their feet in a standing ovation.

It seemed to take forever for everyone to calm down. Once the judges were back in their seats, the crowd slowly quieted, ready to hear what they would say. And the praise was glowing, starting with Jefferson saying, "You know, I could never get tired of hearing you sing," and the others echoing likewise.

"For you to have such talent when you're so young," Debbie remarked. "If you got some proper vocal training, you could go really far in life."

Smiling soft, Joan added, "You're already one of the best we've ever seen," which brought on an applause of agreement from the audience.

"I'd really like to thank your mom for signing you up," Dwayne said, earning a spat of chuckles from the crowd.

Beside Clef, Lan quietly said, "I think we just found our greatest competition." Clef couldn't help but agree.


	19. Chapter 19

When Benjamin returned from his performance, the green room exploded into applause again, stunning the boy. His eyes shot open wide and he went stock-still in the doorway, until understanding seemed to dawn on him. His shoulders relaxed, his breathing started up again, and the tiniest of smiles appeared on his face.

One of the girls in the room yelled out, "That was amazing!" causing Benjamin to lower his head shyly as he whispered his thanks.

Eventually, attention turned back to the screens around the room, where the hosts reminded viewers how to vote. A recap video was played, showing the highlights of each contestant's performance. Clef put a hand to Lan's shoulder when their clip was played, now knowing the truth behind his painful serenade.

Then the screen went to commercial, and everyone began talking at the same time. Votes were being cast as they spoke, their fates left up to the faceless people watching at home who were perfectly allowed to vote for completely arbitrary reasons instead of musical ability alone. Clef didn't know if that were a good thing or not – his band had both musical talent and a few good-looking members on their side, but their placement hadn't been great, and generally the imbecilic masses tended to prefer current, trendy pop songs over originals. He continued to waver between hopeful that Lan's soulful singing really had stuck in people's minds, and sure that it would be some skinny, skimpy-clad chick who had sung whatever generic song was popular right then who would be moving on.

The commercials lasted a lifetime, the hosts' banter an eternity after. They spent plenty of time getting comments from the judges, who cleverly avoided saying outright who they thought the frontrunners were or should be, and then went back to commercials again. Clef understood they needed to give the viewers enough time to get their votes in – mostly so that they could boast how many millions of people were watching to advertisers – but his patience and nerves were starting to unravel.

It was with a mental _finally_ that Clef looked over to where a couple of staff members entered the green room. The contestants were instructed to line up by performance number, then ushered back to the stage to hear who would be moving on to the final round. Win or lose, their reactions would be broadcast on live TV. Clef hoped he didn't cry or something if they didn't make it.

The stage director gave them a rundown of how the reveal would go, as if they hadn't all seen it many times before, watching previous seasons of the show. One of the winners would be named right off the bat, and then the rest of the contestants would be sent off until the second winner was left standing. As a viewer, Clef had always found the building excitement of the reveal fun, like hearing the foreboding music of a horror movie. As a contestant, Clef wished they would just spit it all out at once, like ripping off a bandage.

The judges came back from their special break room, everyone got into place, and then the countdown began. No more time to back out and run away.

The theme music played and the audience cheered on cue, and the hosts went into their spiel, thanking the viewers and informing that voting was now closed.

Then one of the hosts held up a silver envelope, pulled from the depths of his jacket. "In here," he said dramatically. "Is the name of our first winner tonight. Going on to the finals in Himbeergeist is..."

The arena lights dimmed and a feint drumroll of music played as the host pulled a silver card from the envelope. And then he announced-

"Benjamin Brightly!"

The crowd erupted and even the judges clapped. The girl standing closest to Benjamin pulled him into a hug, though Benjamin for his part was stiff with shock, eyes wide with disbelief. He moved as if in a trance when the host walked him over to a platform off to the side, asking how he felt.

"A- A little surprised," Benjamin answered softly.

"I'm not surprised at all," Joan said from the judges' table, smiling pleasant. "You have an uplifting voice, and you're cute as a button."

"Have confidence in yourself," Debbie added. "Just don't lose your charming innocence."

Benjamin nodded before stuttering out a nervous, "Y-Yes, Ma'm."

The other host took over then, holding up a silver envelope of her own. "Here I have the names of those who will _not_ be going on tonight. Though your time on this show is over, don't let it stop you from pursuing your dreams."

How inspirational.

She slowly took her card from the envelope, then, after a dramatic pause, said in a clear voice, "Kelly Ann Arnold, Jesson Black, Two-Peat, and The Raging Dogs, you won't be going on to the final. I'm sorry."

Each of the named performers looked heartbroken, some hugging anyone nearby, some simply hanging their heads. The bathroom bully and his band had been eliminated, and Clef thought it was only right.

They all had to pass by Benjamin's platform as they exited the stage, and most of those leaving hugged or high-fived him. 'The Raging Dogs', however, ignored him; the bully flipped him off outright. Clef saw Joan's jaw drop at that, and Debbie's eyes went wide. Sometimes poor sportsmanship carried through the music industry – Clef hoped to Jesus it did this time.

The number of remaining contestants had been cut in half, as had the number of slots moving to the final. Clef felt a flash of annoyance when they called for yet another commercial break; he just wanted to get on with it, but the sponsors had to get their money's worth.

Nobody really addressed the contestants during the break, leaving them to just stand there while the director talked with the judges and other staff flitted about them, touching up their makeup or replacing their water bottles with fresh, full ones. While some of the contestants talked amongst each other, Cade included, Clef instead looked around the arena, marveling at the expanse of the place. The stage-side speakers were larger than at any other venue they had played, and Clef hoped he got to see the arena in Himbeergeist as well.

His eyes happened to fall on Benjamin, standing off on his own, and he found the boy looking at him. Clef smiled and Benjamin immediately looked away, and Clef wondered, if given the chance, if it wouldn't be good to let Benjamin know that he was a collector too. He could even name off some of the doll brands he owned himself, to prove that he wasn't just bullshitting to tease. Then maybe Benjamin would feel like he had an ally.

Or maybe that was stupid and didn't matter. Maybe it would be a waste of time. He didn't know how Benjamin would take it, but he did know that there had been plenty of times in his own life when he wished he had someone on his side who would be willing to stick up for him.

Well... He would think about it. If they didn't pass this round of the contest, he likely wouldn't ever see Benjamin again anyway.

The music indicating they were coming back from commercials played, and Clef turned his focus back to the hosts introducing the next segment.

"All right, Thamesland," the host said, then held up his next silver envelope. "Here are the next contestants to be eliminated from the show." He slid the silver card out slowly, holding everyone's attention in rapt anticipation. Clef held his breath as he watched the host read over the card before the announcement came. "James Westerton, Tri-Star, and Anna Belle, you will not be going on to the final. I'm sorry."

The hugs and tears played out again as the named performers made their exit. Clef would feel bad for them later, maybe, but at the moment he was too busy spazzing out internally that he was still there, standing on the stage. They had made it to the last two, a fifty-fifty chance of moving on, and he almost wanted to pinch himself to make sure it wasn't just a dream.

This time, he didn't have the wherewithal to be miffed at the commercial break. The chance to pull himself together and _breathe_ wasn't a bad thing. He was shaken out of his shock quite literally when Cade, standing behind him, grabbed his shoulders and shook him enthusiastically, cheering, "We survived! We did it!"

Clef turned, smile bright, and pushed Cade playfully. "Almost. We're not through yet."

"Yeah, but the worst we could have placed is third. That's not too bad for something like this."

"Third isn't our goal," Lan cut in, voice serious and stiff. "We're here to win this."

They went silent for a moment, partially shocked at Lan's tone, though they didn't disagree with his words. But then Gaku lifted a finger, wordlessly pointing at the girl who stood beside them. Though he hadn't spoken, his meaning was clear – she was in it to win too. All of the other contestants had been. Those who had been eliminated already had come thinking they could win, and now they were gone.

Any further thought or discussion was interrupted by the return from commercial. Time for the moment of truth.

Clef put his hand to the corner of his bag. He needed Allegro's presence more than ever.

The hosts welcomed the viewers back and hyped up that this was it, time to reveal who else would be moving on to the final. The female host held up the final silver envelope, informing everyone that it held the name of the night's second winner, and then she took an eternity to slide the card free. Another lifetime passed while she looked over the card as if it held the key to world peace, and then she brought the microphone back up to her lips.

"Jill Summers..."

Clef went out of his mind as the pretty, dark-haired girl beside him stepped forward. He needed to know right now, before his heart squeezed the life out of itself and his stomach twisted so hard he puked. A name didn't mean anything; it could still go either way. Congratulations and condolences both had been brought forth at this point in past shows, leaving them with no way of knowing which way it would go this time, and Clef was about to snap from the stress.

"I'm sorry."

Frozen in shock, Clef felt arms around him and heard the audience scream before he could even comprehend what was going on. He saw the other contestant hugging the hosts, then Benjamin, before she exited the stage with her head held high, and then it finally hit him what that meant.

Lan was holding on to him, and Clef wrapped his friend in a tight embrace, quickly overcome with relief and _joy_ as he buried his face into Lan's neck. They had done it – they had shown the whole country their music, and people _liked_ it, liked _them_ , wanted to hear more of their songs. He felt Lan laugh, and it made Clef squeeze him tighter, even as a voice in his head reminded him that he should let go before detrimental rumors started. He didn't want to, though; not yet. But he did punch a fist into the air, crying out an elated, " _Yeah_!" which seemed to make the audience cheer louder.

Then they crashed to the floor in a heap, Cade's arms around all of them, laughing, excited. Even Gaku laughed out loud, caught up in the middle of their dog-pile, the four of them holding on to each other.

The hosts were laughing too, though, the validity of it was questionable. The woman asked, "Are you alright!?" while the man held out a hand to start helping them up.

It was only after they were standing again that Clef briefly worried about his bag getting crushed in the debacle, but the series of kicks that came through the bag into his side assured him that Allegro was fine and annoyed.

"I would ask how you feel about going on, but I'm guessing the answer is 'happy'," one of the hosts said.

"Ecstatic," Lan replied, smiling brightly. Then he put a hand to his chest, resting over his heart, and added, "And extremely grateful."

"Well, you deserve it, if you ask me," Dwayne said from the judges' table. "The four of you are really something together. I can't wait to hear what else you've got."

The audience cheered again as Lan leaned into the host's microphone to say a sincere, "Thank you, Sir."

The show's ending music began to play, announcing the end of that night's episode, as the host brought Benjamin over to stand with the band. The other host looked into the camera, reminding viewers to tune in tomorrow to find out who the finalists from the next location would be, before next week's finale in Himbeergeist.

Clef waved to the cameras with his friends, keeping his smile up until the music played out and the director called it clear.

Then there was a flurry of activity that Clef almost couldn't follow. The judges stood and waved to the audience, then were escorted out by staff members. At almost the same time, the contestants were directed off stage, waving to the audience as they went, and were immediately being ushered to an office behind several closed, 'staff only' doors in the venue. Partway there, they were met by a pretty blonde woman who hugged Benjamin tightly, and Clef guessed she was the boy's mother. And only then did it occur to Clef that they were going to do all the legal procedures and paperwork for the next episode, right then and there. As a minor, Benjamin would need a parent's signature to continue competing.

Clef didn't know anything about legal stuff, and almost wished he had a parent with him as well. He wondered if his mom had even watched the program, wondered if she would recognize him if she had. His dad and grandparents had all promised to watch, though, and for now he could leave all the legal stuff to Lan, who was far more of an adult than Clef, despite there only being a year between them.

The paperwork seemed to take forever, or maybe it was the day's exhaustion hitting all at once. It seemed to drag on, each sheet that was set before them explained in detail, rules and awards outlined, what the production company could and could not do with their names and faces. Just about the only thing Clef understood was that travel expenses would not be reimbursed, but when the contract was passed to him, he signed right alongside his friends.

When all was said and done and they were set free, the four of them stood beside the two cars packed with their instruments. Of course, it was Cade who immediately brought food up, cheering, "Let's get some grub!"

While it _had_ been some time since they had eaten, Clef was tired physically, drained mentally, and would really prefer to grab some snacks from a convenience store and eat at the hotel. If the others wanted to go out, however, he supposed he would go along this time. It wasn't like he had much choice.

Seemed Lan felt the same as Clef did, thankfully. "If it's all right, I'd rather just go to the hotel and crash," he said. "I'm beat."

Clef and Gaku both nodded in agreement, and though Cade looked bummed, he didn't say anything. So they piled into the cars, hit up a NanaMart, and then headed off to the hotel.

Once again, everything was left to Lan. Clef almost felt bad, but at the same time, he was sure if he were the one to do the checking-in, he would mess something up. So he waited off to the side with Gaku and Cade, and it wasn't long before Lan returned to them holding two key-cards.

"We got two rooms, across the hall from each other," Lan informed them. "So we can split up. Clef and I-"

Before Lan could finish what he was saying, Gaku grabbed on to Clef's arm and smiled.

"Are you calling dibs?" Lan asked with a laugh.

Gaku nodded his response.

Cade played offended. "You don't want to room with me?"

"The entire drive here, Cade talked and talked and talked," Gaku said as if Cade weren't standing right there. "I need quiet for a while."

Lan chuckled once more. "All right. Cade and I will share a room; you two can take the other." He handed one of the key-cards to Clef. "We're not really in any hurry to leave tomorrow, but we do need to check-out by eleven o'clock."

They nodded their acknowledgements and chatted their way to the elevators, then parted with 'good night's before the two pairs went off to their separate rooms.


	20. Chapter 20

Clef tossed his duffle bag on the nearest bed, letting out a sigh of exhaustion as he unzipped the bag to look for his pouch of travel toiletries. He hadn't even begun searching for it, though, when he heard a feint, pay-attention-to-me cough from the direction of the other bed, and looked up to see Gaku smiling at him.

"What?" Clef asked slowly, giving his best suspicious look.

Gaku's smile turned up, as if trying to look especially friendly or innocent. Clef could almost see his eyelashes fluttering behind the curtain of hair. "You packed lots?" Gaku questioned.

"Not... especially..." Clef answered. That seemed like a really random thing to ask. "No more than-"

He stopped.

Ah.

Clef stood up straight and put a hand to the bag at his side. "You want to meet him, don't you?" That must have been why Gaku wanted to room with him in the first place.

Gaku just tilted his head and shrugged.

A shiver of fear ran through him, but he figured it would ultimately be a good thing. Gaku already knew about the pixie anyway, and Allegro knew he knew. Clef trusted Gaku not to run off to the press, and it would be good for Allegro to get out of the bag for a while, after being stuck in there most of the day.

"It's all right," Clef said at last, and Gaku seemed to light up. Clef tacked on a "Probably..." as he un-slung the bag from around his shoulders and opened the flap. Allegro would have heard everything – if he wanted to remain unseen despite the fact that Gaku already knew of his existence, he could just stay in the bag, but still, Clef held the bag open and called out a soft, "Allegro."

A still moment ticked by, and then suddenly Allegro shot out of the bag, a blur of gray that zipped through the air, diving straight into the duffle bag. For a second, Clef just blinked, unsure of what happened, until Allegro emerged from the duffle bag holding a small bundle. The microfiber cloth fell away, and Allegro swung the violin onto his shoulder.

"Allegro, no!" Clef yelled. He grabbed for the pixie, but Allegro darted out of his reach, bringing the bow to tiny, deadly strings.

Everything went still, Clef waiting for the inevitable, mind-shattering pain while Gaku just stood with his mouth hanging open as if in shock. But the music never came – the pain never came. Allegro simply glared hot, poised to strike, though only his wings moved, holding him above the two humans.

"If you tell _anyone_ about me," Allegro finally hissed. "I _will_ kill you." It seemed like a lifetime since Clef had last heard those words.

Gaku's face broke into a smile again, apparently charmed by the aggressive little pixie. "You're more pretty than I thought."

Fury shot across Allegro's face, and he drew the bow across the violin's strings, sending out a note that immediately made Gaku's smile fall and his jaw tighten.

"Allegro!" Clef snapped. That single note had his teeth clenching, a jolt of pain passing through his temples.

"Don't underestimate me!" Allegro growled, eyes fixed on Gaku.

Gaku's hands went up in surrender. "I won't tell anyone. I keep secrets."

After a stretched moment, the very air feeling taut as if close to snapping, Allegro finally lowered the violin, though his glare remained scathing hot. "Consider yourself lucky I haven't killed you already."

"Oh? Why haven't you?" Gaku asked, smile sneaking back onto his lips.

Clef thought Allegro wouldn't answer, the pixie remaining silent so long, until he finally replied, "Because he needs you," as he nodded in Clef's direction.

"You must be good friends," Gaku said with a grin.

This time, Allegro didn't answer, only continued to glare as he floated down to sit on Clef's shoulder, as if to stake a claim.

"So, this is Allegro," Clef said, gesturing to the pixie. "The biggest pain in the ass you'll ever meet."

"Nice to meet you," Gaku greeted, cheerful.

Allegro just turned away and stuck his nose in the air.

"He's-" Perhaps it was best _not_ to mention how jealous Allegro had been of Gaku's status as a 'pretty' human, so Clef amended what he was going to say to, "He's happy to meet you too, I'm sure." And when Allegro's only response was a snort, Clef sighed. At least Gaku seemed to be amused by the little brat. "I was going to jump in the shower," Clef said next. "Unless you wanted to go first?"

Gaku gave a thumbs-up, saying a bright, "Morning shower."

So Clef went back to his duffle to dig out his things, Allegro taking flight to do the same, gathering his makeshift pajamas in one hand, refusing to relinquish his violin. "Are you going to take that into the shower with you?" Clef asked, raising a brow at the tiny instrument.

"I can't leave it here; that guy will touch it."

Gaku's smile pulled up again. "I won't touch."

"I don't trust you!" Allegro said with a glare.

Clef wondered if they were all going to survive the night. "At least put it back in the case." Then he moved to the bathroom, locating the towels and discerning how to use the faucets. "Do you want a bath in the sink?" he called out.

Allegro appeared, carrying the plastic cassette case with his neatly-wrapped violin inside. His pajamas were folded on top, carried as if on a platter. "I'll shower with you," he said in answer. He set his burden down on the sink, stared at it a moment, then turned to Clef. "I want a case where I don't have to carry it in my hands."

"Like a backpack?" Clef questioned as he began to fiddle with the shower faucets. "Wouldn't that get in the way of your wings?"

"Not if you do it right."

Running his hand under the water to check the temperature, Clef began to search his mind for ideas. Perhaps if the violin were placed just right, or positioned perpendicular to his body at the waist, it might work. Maybe he could ask the doll group for some ideas – some of the local gals were really crafty. "I'll figure something out," he said, then pulled his shirt off.

Allegro was already naked and standing under his chosen stream of water by the time Clef had undressed. He held his hand out for the drop of shampoo to wash his hair with, more humanized than he would ever admit, and Clef couldn't help a smile. He wondered if he had taken on any pixie traits in the time they had been together, though that was doubtful.

"I need a stick," Allegro said after he had washed himself, looking up at Clef with expectant, gray eyes.

"A stick?"

"The white one, for my wings."

"Ooh." He hadn't even thought about packing any cotton swabs – hadn't had much time to think about packing anything, because of _someone_. "I didn't bring any."

The frown Allegro threw him almost made Clef laugh.

"I'll wash your back for you," Clef said with a smile. "Then you can wash mine." What a sight _that_ would be.

So Clef held up a hand for Allegro to sit on, having the pixie turn so his back faced Clef. With just a few drops of bodywash on his fingers, Clef began to run just a fingertip along Allegro's back, right between the smoky wings. Allegro's back arched into the touch, like a cat enjoying a good petting.

Carefully, Clef spread the lather between thumb and forefinger over each wing. He knew they weren't nearly as delicate as he had once thought they were, more like skin than tissue paper, but he didn't want to take chances. He didn't want to hurt Allegro. So he gave each wing just a few cleansing strokes, then moved his finger back to that spot Allegro liked.

He applied more pressure to Allegro's back, then slid his finger up and over Allegro's shoulder, first one, than the other, in the figment of a little massage. A soft moan came from Allegro, and Clef smiled, happy to do this for the pixie, even if Clef himself was the one who ran around, stressed out all day.

Then Allegro moaned again, higher and more needy this time, a whimper. Clef's movements paused, and after a held heartbeat, he asked, "Are you alright?"

"You're touching me... so much..." Allegro said between heavy breaths.

"I'm sorry," Clef replied, quickly pulling his hand away. It had been so long since Allegro had complained about being touched – how it made him too 'hot' – Clef had almost forgotten it was an issue.

"No, I-" Allegro's breath hitched, and then he grabbed Clef's index finger of the hand he was sitting on. He pulled the finger up, holding it tightly as he sat up on his knees and pressed his hips against it. Clef could feel the small erection push against his finger as Allegro moaned again and panted. "I want more."

"We... We can't," Clef replied, though it almost hurt to do so. He had to fight not to curl his finger against Allegro and stroke the pixie off. "Gaku is right outside; he'll hear."

"Hurts..." Allegro thrust against the finger, frotting against it with increasing frenzy, and for a while Clef just watched, enchanted by the pixie's show of need and lust. Clef's own dick was quickly hardening, the tiny incubus in his hand working his magic, leaving him helpless once again.

"We..." And just like that, his protest died. He didn't stand a chance. So he pulled Allegro away from his finger and turned him around so he could see the pixie's flushed and tormented face. Allegro was as sexy as he was adorable, and though Clef loved seeing his features colored with desperation, he wanted to see Allegro's face drowned in bliss as well. "We'll have to be quiet."

Allegro's eyes were half-lidded, his breaths panting softly. "Please..."

Clef's lips pulled into a gentle smile, and then he brought Allegro's body up to his mouth, lapping at the tiny erection. The sound that purred from Allegro's throat made Clef's heart squeeze and his cock jump. Allegro's fingers flexed as he was licked again, digging hard into the flesh of Clef's hand. Then Allegro's hips thrust against Clef's tongue as if desperate for more, like he could never get enough. For a moment, Clef felt the same – he would never be able to get enough of Allegro.

Kneeling, Clef laid Allegro down on the ledge of the bathtub, then pinned his limbs. Allegro's hips thrust minutely, desperate for some kind of gratification that Clef denied him. He whimpered, eyes cracked open to stare needy at Clef. His mouth moved as if to make demands, but no words came out.

Clef smiled, feeling warm from something that wasn't the hot water pouring over his back. He whispered, "Allegro..." without really having anything to say, as though he simply liked having the pixie's name on his lips. Then he leaned down to once again run his tongue over Allegro's erection, pulling a moan from the pixie that was surely loud enough to be heard over the running water.

He was encouraged by the sounds Allegro made, and harder than he had ever been before. He wanted to reach down and stroke himself off, but holding Allegro down, feeling him subconsciously fight the restraint, unable to thrust and thrash like he wanted, was a thrill for Clef. He liked having the pixie's pleasure in his hands, so he licked a hard line along Allegro's leaking dick, then slid taut lips over it. Allegro's panting breaths hitched in a groan, then sped up as his hips tried and tried to seek more. And Clef gave more, bobbing his head to suck Allegro off, slipping his tongue out to lick over Allegro's balls before sliding his lips down the tiny erection once more. As he suckled at Allegro's cock, he could feel the pixie's arms flex, as if desperately wanting to grab on to the source of his pleasure.

"Clef..."

He stopped, the whole world going still as his heart beat heavy in his ears, and then Clef pulled back to stare wide-eyed at Allegro.

He had never heard Allegro say his name before.

"Clef..." Allegro panted, not seeming to realize what it was doing. "Please..."

Clef's chest felt like it was going to explode. He scooped Allegro up again, holding the small body to his face with one hand and running his tongue over Allegro's dick again. Able to move again, Allegro thrust his hips frantically, fucking the line of Clef's mouth as he grabbed handfuls of Clef's hair, and Clef let him. The very thought of Allegro riding his face so desperately had Clef scrambling for his own dick, needing release. He squeezed himself in a tight fist, pumping hard. Allegro had him so hot, he wasn't going to last long, and he didn't even care. He needed to come.

Allegro got there first. His body locked up, hips jamming his erection between Clef's lips one last time before he pulled at the locks of hair in his hands and cried out. The small load of his cum sprinkled over Clef's tongue, a taste that Clef had grown needy for. Allegro's hips twitched and another spurt shot out, and then his body went limp, falling away.

"Fuck," Clef hissed, stroking himself harder. "You taste so good." The he took another lick along Allegro's softening cock, making the pixie gasp in pain. The taste was enough; the sounds were enough; just looking at Allegro's fucked-out little face was enough to push Clef over the edge. He clenched his teeth to hold his voice back to a strangled groan as he came; his eyes remained fixated on Allegro's heaving, panting body as he shot his seed to the tub below.

He breathed, gasping lightly for air while Allegro did the same. Then, slowly, Clef brought Allegro up to his face again, this time to softly kiss the side of the pixie's head. When he pulled his hand back, he found Allegro with averted eyes and pink-dusted skin.

"Thank you," Clef said, which seemed to shock Allegro. His liquid gray eyes widened, and he looked at Clef, but before he could say anything, Clef went on with, "I'm glad you came today, even if it was boring for you. It was comforting to have you by my side."

Allegro looked away again, silent for a moment, until he finally replied, "It wasn't all boring."

They finished washing up and got dressed, and when they emerged from the bathroom, they found Gaku smiling at them. Clef flushed hot – he didn't know if Gaku had heard them or suspected anything from how long they had been locked away together. Gaku likely wouldn't say anything even if he had heard, for which Clef was grateful, but he still silently prayed to any gods out there that his friend hadn't heard.

"I, uh... I almost can't believe we made it," Clef said, a diversion to keep himself from thinking too much. He grabbed his NanaMart bag, packed with a selection of convenience store sandwiches and potato chips, as well as a salad, just because he knew Allegro would like the dressing. Then he smiled and emphasized, " _Almost_ ," as he sat down on his chosen bed.

Gaku nodded from his own bed. His NanaMart sushi was long gone, but he still had an open bag of cheezy-chips in front of him. It felt like they were having a little slumber party. "We were amazing," he replied, and then his smile dipped. "But actually, I was a little scared."

"Yeah, me too," Clef confessed. He had set his selection of sandwiches in front of Allegro and let the pixie choose which they would eat first, since he would be full long before Clef was. "It's a big deal, after all." He tore a corner off of the selected egg salad sandwich and handed it to Allegro, moving to then open the bag of chips for them to share.

"Mm... And Lan was strange, so I worried."

Clef's hand paused with his sandwich halfway to his mouth. His heart thudded softly. Lan was single now, and had already come out as bi. If Clef were a more confident or deluded person, he would think the universe was lining things up for them to get together. If he had bigger balls, he would consider asking Lan out once an appropriate post-breakup amount of time had passed. But he wouldn't. He couldn't, and not just because he was chicken-shit. If Lan didn't feel the same, Clef would have to leave the band. Even if Lan insisted they could still be friends, as Clef knew he would, there was no way he could face Lan day after day to constantly relive the rejection. He couldn't risk that – this band was too precious to him; he had staked everything on them.

"Yeah, I... I feel bad for him..." Clef answered at last. "I hope he's doing alright."

A moment of silence passed, and then Gaku said, "Now you can date Lan."

Clef almost choked on his sandwich. He swallowed hard to get it down, taking a drink from his pop, and then turned incredulous eyes to Gaku. "The hell I can. Lan would never go for someone like me."

"You never know," Gaku smiled.

Clef gave a derisive snort. "Now you're starting to sound like him," he said, pointing a finger down at Allegro. Of course, Allegro had the excuse of not knowing how humans work to explain his 'if you want to mate, then mate' encouragement. Gaku should know better.

"He's not good enough," Allegro said in a low voice. "Don't date him."

Clef looked down at Allegro, still charmed after all this time at the way food looked so big in the pixie's tiny, gray hands. "That is _not_ what you said before. You said I should go for it, and that when Lan's marriage proposal was turned down, it was good for me." It sounded heartless now, repeating Allegro's words in front of Gaku. Clef understood Allegro's nature, but found himself hoping it didn't make Gaku dislike Allegro, though he couldn't explain why that should matter. Perhaps he was being protective of his pixie.

"I changed my mind," Allegro replied. "He doesn't love music like you do."

"Lan is better with music than anyone else I know."

"Being good at it doesn't mean he loves it," Allegro said with a frown. "He doesn't appreciate it like you do."

"You're wrong."

"Don't mate with him."

Clef could feel his face go warm. "I wasn't going to anyway!"

Gaku began to laugh, drawing Clef's and Allegro's attention both to the other side of the room.

"What are you laughing at, asshole?" Allegro asked, a growl to his voice.

"You two are _very_ good friends," Gaku answered with a smile.

Clef's gaze turned to look at Allegro, who looked back for a moment, but then scowled and looked away. Something in the glace made Clef's heart warm. "Well..." Clef's reply came slowly. "We've known each other for a while now."

Gaku smiled brighter and nodded. "You are different, but so comfortable around each other. It's special."

The warmth in Clef's chest spread, enveloping his whole body. He didn't know what it was; he didn't know what to call the thing he and Allegro had going between them. There _was_ a comfort between them, an ease towards each other, and trust. Clef wanted to protect Allegro, despite the feisty pixie being such a brat. Somehow, Allegro had become so precious to him, and Gaku was right – it was pretty special.

He could only sit quietly and wonder, then, how things would be if Allegro were human.


	21. Chapter 21

It was like death.

The store was so _quiet_ , the café even more so, and Clef had lost track of how long he had been standing there, staring blankly at the empty eatery. Somehow, he wasn't content with the situation, even though he was still wiped out from the events of two days prior.

He had gotten congratulations from his co-workers who had seen the show, which was just about everyone, given the contest's popularity. A couple of them even said they voted for him, which Clef thanked them sincerely for. The praise was such a high, he didn't even feel any ill-will towards those who hadn't bothered to support him with a vote.

Even Jackie had stopped by the café to tell him just how surprised she was to see his band was actually good. Clef thanked her, but afterwards he had a long moment of pause at the "surprised" part, wondering why she couldn't just compliment someone like normal.

No customers had recognized him so far, and Clef was two parts grateful, one part disappointed. He hadn't held much of the cameras' focus, after all, which he confirmed by repeatedly watching replay streams and highlight clips on YuuTube. The cameras had stayed mostly trained on the band as a whole, the judges, audience, or Lan. It seemed the only time they had zoomed in on Clef's face was when he had begun to cry, his brows scrunched up as if _he_ were the one who was suffering, and he groaned in embarrassment when he saw it. Of course they couldn't have made his one close-up be when he looked cool.

So, he wasn't super heartbroken when none of the few customers who came through that day hadn't given him any sort of 'Hey, you look familiar' or 'Weren't you on TV the other day?' And to be fair, he wouldn't believe a cashier at his local Bullseye Mart was a finalist in a huge music competition either, if things were the other way around.

But after the excitement of the contest and the long drive home the day after, standing near totally still in a quiet store was almost nerve-wracking. He didn't want a moment of rest after playing for a huge crowd on live TV – he wanted to go; he wanted that thrill; he wanted to _rock_. The venue, the performance, the experience... It was like a drug, a hit of what he had been craving his whole life, and he needed more. He needed to be on stage again.

Yet, here he was, wasting time at a minimum wage job. He felt like he could walk out right then and nobody would ever notice. He needed to go; he was missing practice. The only things keeping him at this job that had such eternal disdain for him was his work ethic and his not wanting to cause a huge problem for his co-workers. And his need to keep up with his student loan payments, maybe.

Gaku had again 'claimed' Clef for the ride home, citing the need to continue their conversation from the previous night. Really, Clef suspected he was just eternally amused by Allegro, who paid him as little mind as possible, addressing Gaku only in threats of violence. It was a tight fit, getting all of Gaku's drum kit plus Clef into the tiny car, but Allegro did seem to enjoy staring out the window for the whole trip, so it was worth having to spend hours with a snare on his lap.

Riding with Gaku meant Clef hadn't had a chance to talk with Lan about his breakup or see how he was doing. Perhaps it was for the best, though. He didn't really have any more to say than 'that sucks', not good with words at all. At least talking with Cade – if Lan had felt inclined to talk at all – would have yielded real responses. Still, though... it might have been nice to have been the one who was there for Lan at a time like this.

" _Sir_?"

Clef snapped back into focus, looking down to see a woman huffing impatient at him. This particular store sat right where the city's upper suburban area faded into ghetto, and they got a clash of customers from both sides of the tracks. This lady looked like she fit squarely in the ghetto side, dressed like an overpaid streetwalker and missing at least two teeth.

"I called you three times," she said before Clef could get out a greeting. "You need to pay attention."

"I'm sorry," Clef replied in his best customer-placating voice. "I'm a bit tired today. I apologize."

"Yeah, well, I want a soft pretzel and a thing of nacho cheese."

Clef began to ring up the order, asking, "Would you like anything to drink?"

"What've you got?"

"There's bottled water and juice in that case over there." Clef pointed. "Or there's pop in the self-service drink bar."

The woman's lip curled up as she began digging through a golden wallet with claw-like fake nails. "Pop? Where the fuck you from?"

Old habit. "I grew up in Himbeergeist."

"Well, we say 'soda' here." Then she slid some bills across the counter. "Yeah, gimme a large drink."

Once she had been rung up and change given, Clef moved to grab a pair of gloves and start getting her food together. He was too tired to seethe like he usually would, but the treatment – being talked to like he was completely stupid – seemed to grab him by the collar and shake him as a reminder of how badly he needed to get out of this toxic place.

When he returned to the counter, pretzel and cup of cheese in hand, the woman watched him with a raised brow. "You got a girlfriend?"

The question threw Clef for such a loop, he was shocked stupid for a moment. The he settled into a silent sigh. He got hit on once a year, maybe, and it was always by some braindead bint with bad teeth. He understood he wasn't a shining specimen of manliness, but for once it might be nice to feel like someone was actually attracted to him, and didn't just see him as a meal ticket.

He was faced with a choice – tell this woman the truth and risk losing a vote next week if she was a homophobe, or make something up and lose a vote when the woman got butt-hurt about being turned down. Or perhaps she wasn't a 'Music Factor' viewer and it didn't matter either way. Or maybe she was a big-name YuuTuber, and would tell her millions of subscribers not to vote for 'Curse of ROM' because the fat bassist didn't appreciate a good woman.

"You city folk got cash, right?" she said before Clef could weigh his responses. "I give good head."

Clef thrust the pretzel toward her, prompting her to take it as he finally answered a simple, "I'm gay."

The woman's head jerked like it had never occurred to her that that might be an option. Then she replied, "God don't like that, ya know," as she took her nacho cheese. "That's why he made diseases." And without waiting for a response, she turned and walked off into the store.

"Yeah, because straight people never get diseases," Clef sneered to nobody.

Another cart aimed to head into the café, and Clef swallowed a sigh until he saw it was Katie, plain clothed, daughter in tow. It was her day off, yet here she was, at the inescapable black hole that was Bullseye Mart. "You look like you want to tear that chick's face off," she said with a laugh.

"She was trying to sell me a... service," Clef replied, mindful of the four-year-old in the cart. "I wasn't interested."

Katie laughed again as she pulled a bag of popcorn out of the case. "I saw you on 'Music Factor' the other night. You guys were awesome."

Clef perked, the woman forgotten. "Thanks."

"Lan sounded like his dog died. I was almost in tears." She dug through a coin purse as Clef rang up her popcorn and applied her employee discount. "You know, if I had any feelings."

Clef grinned, but it quickly faded. "Yeah, actually..." His voice went low. "His girlfriend broke up with him the night before the contest."

"Ooh, ouch."

"Yeah. He was actually pretty out of it that entire day."

"But you're secretly happy about it, right?" Katie smiled again.

"Well... no." He could understand why she would think so, but the accusation still stung a bit. While everyone seemed to think this was Clef's chance, it felt callous. What must they think of him if they thought he would use Lan's pain like that and go for the rebound? Did they honestly think a fat fuck like him even could if he wanted to? "I would rather Lan be happy with someone than alone and sad."

"He could be happy with you."

That struck something in Clef, and for a moment he dared to imagine what it would be like to date Lan – just as he imagined so many times before. Staying behind after practice to talk about everything and nothing, sneaking kisses backstage before a show, sharing knowing glances when Lan used his flirtatious lines on the audience during a performance. Maybe they would be happy together, infusing their band and their music with a new kind of love.

Then he remembered Allegro's gruff little voice – 'Don't mate with him' – and this time it made Clef laugh.

"What?" Katie questioned, smile morphing into something more lecherous. "Thinking of something nice?"

"No, I just-"

"Don't be shy. I think _nice_ things about him all the time."

Clef laughed. "If he heard half the things you said about him, he would sue you for harassment."

"Well, he can lock me right up. I've already got the cuffs."

"Mommy!" The daughter had apparently had enough of waiting. She began to throw herself back and forth in the basket's child seat and kick her legs.

"Okay, okay," Katie said to the child before a real tantrum could start. "We're going." Then her eyes flicked up to Clef, giving a quick but sincere, "Sorry." One of the many things Clef adored about Katie – she worshipped her kid, but didn't demand everyone else do.

Conversation cut short, they said their goodbyes, and Clef was left alone in the empty café once again.

On his lunch break, he found a text from Jan, one of the local doll collectors, waiting for him. The message he had sent out about a doll-sized violin case was returned with suggestions as to where he could buy one online, then convert it to a backpack himself. He was grateful for the replies, but ordering one would have taken a while to arrive, and if Allegro was planning on going to the final with them – and Clef suspected he was – they might not receive it in time. So when Jan posted that it would be easy enough, and cheaper, to just make one himself, Clef was quick to send her a private message, asking if she knew of any patterns that would be useful. At the time she just said she would have to look around and see what she could find, but now she had supplied him not only with a link to a pattern that could be adjusted according to size and printed out, but she also sent a list of all the materials he would need.

He thanked her profusely, then began shoveling his pizza-wrap into his mouth. Some of the things on her materials list – foam, small zippers, heavy canvas material – he could get right there in Bullseye Mart's do-it-yourself and crafts section. His grandmother had tons of needles and heavy-duty thread at home, having done a lot of sewing in her younger days, so with any luck, he could get started that night.

A smile broke over his face as he tossed his garbage and headed for the sales floor to get his shopping done before his lunch break ended. Somehow, doing something like this for Allegro made him happy.

"How's that?"

They had a prototype put together, everything held together with pins and tape, but Clef wanted to make sure it would actually work and leave Allegro still able to fly before he committed to sewing and wasted his time.

Allegro flapped his wings, then took off and flew around a bit, testing it out. He did a few flips and rolls, and didn't seem to have any problems maneuvering at all. It was good. Clef had been a bit worried – the backpack straps laid just outside Allegro's wings, while the narrow top of the case, where the neck of the violin would rest, nestled right in between – but Allegro's movements didn't seem to be impeded at all. If the violin had been even just a little bit bigger, it wouldn't have worked. They got lucky.

Allegro landed, and the whole case promptly fell apart. He stared at the pile of black canvas for a moment, then turned a scowl up to Clef.

Clef laughed. "It's not finished yet. I still need to sew the pieces together." Hopefully the finished product would be sturdier. It had taken him three days to get what he had done, working on it in between work and band practice. If he made a mistake somewhere, there wouldn't be time to start all over again.

Gathering up the pieces, Clef set everything aside in a pile somewhere. He should be able to finish it up the following day and still have two days to do test runs and make adjustments if needed. Then he turned back to Allegro to find the pixie dusted pink and looking away.

"You... didn't have to make it for me, you know," Allegro said quietly, almost like a pout.

"You said you wanted one," Clef replied, though he got what Allegro was trying to say. And when Allegro really did respond with a scowl-infused pout, Clef smiled a "You're welcome."

Allegro's color went three shades redder, and he took to the air again. "I don't recall thanking you!" he snapped, then zipped off to his room.

Clef just chuckled, heart warmed. Moving over to the bookcase, he called out, "Good night, Allegro," then flicked off the room's overhead light.

That night, he dreamed he and a human-sized Allegro were on a stage together, performing for a huge audience, side-by-side. Their music wrapped around each other, intertwining until they were a single entity. He could see the audience's mouths open as if screaming, but all he could hear was the music.

The pitter-patter of _stomping elephant asshole_ feet was not something Clef ever wanted to wake up to, but there it was. He supposed he should be used to it by now, even more so since it was summer and the kids were over more often, but clearly he never would be. He never _wanted_ to be used to it. He liked loud music, but couldn't stand loud _noise_.

Just as Clef had fumbled his way through the dark and windowless room to flick the overhead light on, he saw Allegro emerge from his room, looking even grumpier than usual. His whole body was limp, dangling from his wings as he floated towards the bedroom door. He had his violin held in one hand, the bow in his other.

"What are you doing?" Clef asked blankly.

"I'm going to kill them," Allegro growled back.

Clef grabbed Allegro's leg as the pixie wandered by. "Normally, I'd say be my guest, but I just know if something happens to them, I'll be the first suspect."

"I can't do anything when they're around. I can't read or _think_ , it's so loud."

"I know. I'm sorry." Clef pulled Allegro toward him, then reached up to run a finger over the soft, gray hair, a comforting pet. "I'm doing what I can to get us out of here."

"Bring me coffee," Allegro demanded, as if that would make everything better. Maybe it would.

"All right," Clef agreed. "In the meantime, put your violin and murderous thoughts away."

"I make no promises," Allegro muttered as he pulled away and headed back toward his room.

He heard Donnie and Jenny playing and laughing in the living room as he began to fix up a pot of coffee, but tried to ignore it. Deciding on frozen toaster pastries for breakfast, he pulled the box out of the freezer, finding only two of the flakey pastries left. He usually ate them in twos anyway, so Clef popped them into the toaster, then set to breaking the empty box down to throw away.

The pastries came with little packets of frosting, which was Allegro's favorite part, and Clef felt a soft smile touch his lip as he began to squeeze frosting over the toasted treats. Hopefully, getting coffee _and_ frosted toaster pastries would make Allegro happy.

_Hopefully_.

He poured a large mug of the freshly-brewed coffee, then took up everything to head to his room, but was stopped when Donnie ran into the kitchen, blocking his path. The kid's eyes went wide and excited when he saw what Clef had.

"Toaster pastries!?" Donnie exclaimed in an obnoxiously loud voice. "I want some!"

"Too late," Clef informed. "These are the last ones."

Donnie pouted; Clef rolled his eyes. "Give me one of those," Donnie said, not a 'please' in sight.

"What? No. This is my food."

Donnie frowned, then turned and darted back into the living room, calling, "Grandma! Clef won't share his toaster pastries!"

Clef's blood flash-boiled. This little brat was really whining, crying, because Clef wouldn't give him the food off of his fucking _plate_? How fucking spoiled was the little shit that he thought he could just _demand_ other people's food and expect to get it? Who the _fuck_ did he think he was?

The answer came on his grandmother's placating voice. "Some people are just selfish."

Donnie, like the other kids, was a precious fucking _baby_ , which meant he ruled the family. Apparently, he was perfectly within his rights to demand whatever he wanted, and if Clef _dared_ deny him, then he was the bad guy. He was _selfish_ for daring to want to eat the food he had made for himself, just as he was _inconsiderate_ for getting ready for work at a time that wasn't convenient for their royal highnesses.

Clef considered just throwing himself down the stairs after he had crossed the threshold to the basement. He wasn't a _baby_ , so nobody would care. He was the eternal bad guy, so nobody would mind.

But Allegro needed him. And maybe his band would care; it would be inconvenient if they had to find a new bassist on such short notice, or perhaps they would pull out of the contest altogether. He didn't really want to be the reason they lost out after they had worked so hard.

So he descended the stairs like normal, footsteps falling heavy. When he got to his room, he near slammed the plate on his desk, though the coffee mug got much softer treatment. He seethed, tempted to scream out his hatred, but stopped himself. Some things shouldn't be said out loud.

"What's your problem?" Allegro asked, fluttering a defensive distance.

"Nothing," Clef muttered in reply.

A moment of still passed, and then Allegro said, "I can still kill them, if you want."

"No," Clef sighed as he plopped into the desk chair. "They're my family; I'm supposed to love them."

"Do they love you?"

He was supposed to instinctively say 'of course', but sometimes he really wondered. In the end, he joked it off, saying, "Nobody loves me."

Allegro stared at him a moment, brows furrowed, tiny mouth held in a frown, but he remained silent. Eventually, he joined Clef at the desk, scraping a hand along one of the controversial toaster pastries to gather up the frosting, then licked his fingers clean.

For a moment, Clef felt the urge to lean over and kiss Allegro, one of his only sources of happiness anymore. Instead, he picked up the second toaster pasty and took a large bite.

He still wasn't over the incident when he left for work. When his grandmother called out a goodbye as he walked through the house to the side door, he just ignored her, even though it made him feel like absolute trash to do so. He knew in the back of his mind she probably hadn't meant her 'selfish' comment, and was just saying whatever to get Donnie to stop whining, but it had hurt, deeply. She likely hadn't thought he would hear, couldn't be hurt by something he hadn't known she had said, hadn't even thought about what if he did hear it, but that didn't change that she had said it. She didn't think twice about making Clef out to be some shitty person just to please a spoiled little _fuck_. It was fine to like children, but it shouldn’t have to come at someone else's expense. It would have been a perfectly reasonable time to give a lecture about boundaries and how he couldn't just demand other people's food, but no. That wasn't this family's style. Their style was more along the lines of playing age-based favorites and kicking people under a bus the moment something newer and shinier and _louder_ came along.

Clef slammed the side door shut behind him, pissed off all over again.

In the garage, he saw Danny huddled in a corner, spraying something with a can of spray paint. The whole corner – wall, concrete floor, and part of the garage door's frame – had been painted hot pink. Clef was about to snap at him, ask what the fuck he thought he was doing, but that would probably end up with Clef himself getting in trouble – called a bully or rude or something. Maybe he would get bitched at for swearing in front of a kid again, even though literally everyone else did it; they weren't the family bad guys, so it was okay for them, apparently.

So Clef kept on walking, intending to continue ignoring the whole lot of them, but then Danny perked up, chirping his greeting of "Hi, Clef," like he didn't get that Clef would _never_ be happy to see him.

"What are you doing?" Clef managed to ask like a normal person.

"There's a spider," Danny answered like that made perfect sense.

"So you spray-painted it?"

"Now it looks cool."

Clef stared at him blankly for a moment, then simply said, "That's cruel."

"It's just a spider."

Clef sneered and continued on to his car, carefully loading his precious bass into the trunk. It would figure the little shithead wouldn't care about another lifeform. Clef shuddered outright at the thought of what would happen if any of those kids got their hands on Allegro. It was all too easy to picture them coating the pixie in hot pink spray paint until he suffocated in it, or pulling his wings off as he screamed in pain, or beating him with a shoe, laughing as his tiny bones shattered.

The horrible images in his head made Clef's anger snap, and he peeled out of the driveway before he could give into the need to run back in and grab Allegro and run away with him.


End file.
